I have a difficulty at the moment in where to place my trap, as I have a wasp nest at the side of the house and a hornet nest in a bird box at the bottom of the garden - last night only trapped two hornets that only took a Dusky Thorn that I could see, so not too bad!
Really pleased to get yet another elm feeder last night - I didn't think that there was elm that close to me, but maybe I'm wrong. Clouded Magpie was a new species for the garden.
Epinotia solandriana was another new species for me. I would welcome confirmation for this as it is new.
A third, probably new species, was this micro below, but I'm not sure what it is, so would welcome any thoughts. It was c5-6mm long but evaded the pot, so I only have a shot from above - it does look fairly distinctive.
I get a lot of Black Arches here, another 11 last night, and do get the occasional darker form, but they are no common - here's one below.
Another interesting moth was this presumed second brood Orange Footman. I have had a similar record in the past with one on July 27th 2010.
Adam Bassett
Hello Adam
ReplyDeleteAssuming that the size fits I agree that your Epinotia is probably solandriana judging by some images available on the net but I personally would feel more comfortable with the record if the moth was dissected. If it didn't have "common" next to it in the micro field guide I'd say it was a distinctly uncommon species (I've seen it only twice in Bucks and there are only 11 county records). It is easy enough to name from the forms which have a large dark rectangular blotch along the dorsum but your example doesn't have that feature.
Nothing comes immediately to mind for the gelechid, I'm afraid!
Hi Adam, the third looks like Scrobipalpa costella to me. Have a look on the dissection site, second row, fifth image along from the left by Dave Appleton.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mothdissection.co.uk/species.php?Tx=Scrobipalpa_costella
Best,
Nigel
Thanks Nigel, I think you’ve got it. I haven’t seen many of these and hadn't realised it was quite as variable.
DeleteSo far all of the Clouded Magpie I have trapped this year (about a dozen) have been females and they readily lay eggs. I just put a couple of leaves of Wych Elm in a container and they seem to lay on and around it. The larvae hatch out after abouit 10 days.
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