My overall impression of the season here in Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, somewhat skewed by playing catch-up, has been that certain species (Gold Spot is a good example, as mentioned by various others) have had a good year, with others strikingly down - Large Yellow Underwings, for instance, have been very few and far between. Here are a few macros from recent days which have particularly caught my eye: first, what I think is a rather unusual Clay Triple-lines from 16th August
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| Possible Clay Triple-lines, 16/8/18 |
Next, a couple of shots from 15th August of what I think is probably a Dark Spectacle, which would be a garden first:
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| Possible Dark Spectacle, 15/8/18 |
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| Possible Dark Spectacle, 15/8/18 |
And finally, a bit of a mystery from 16th August: I think it may be a rather unusually-marked Flounced Rustic, but would welcome any other ideas:
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| Maybe a Flounced Rustic, 16/8/18 |
Many thanks for any confirmation or other suggestions!
Steve Goddard
The first is Maiden's Blush, Steve. Any future editions of the field guide would do well to include an image of it with those grey "smudges" on the forewing because I think that's quite a common form, especially in the second brood. On your image you can also just about make out the pink blush in the centre of the wing.
ReplyDeleteI'll go along with Dark Spectacle for the second moth. You don't offer a size for the third one, which I don't think is Flounced Rustic. Assuming it is fairly large, it looks to me more like a Cabbage Moth.
Read the text. The book was written on the basis that people can read not that they're too lazy to do so.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave, and apologies, Martin: my guess of Clay Triple-lines was based on an ID hint I'd seen online for another specimen (not here, I think; possibly on the Hantsmoths Facebook group). Maiden's Blush (which I'm happy with -- it's a year-tick) I'd considered, but couldn't make it tally with what I was seeing in the book; that being the case, I didn't look too closely at the text for the species, but got side-tracked to the CT-l.
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