Please may I just check if this smartly-patterned little micro is Cochylis molliculana which seems to my (often hopeless) eye to be the nearest match in the Micro Bible. Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon
A Blog for moth recorders in Bucks, Berks and Oxon
With whitish head and dark grey thorax I make that C. dubitana.
ReplyDeleteActually, Martins, sorry to throw a spanner in the works but I'm sure that this really is Cochylis molliculana. C.dubitana is a much "cleaner" moth with a large white area across the wing which is untroubled by the brown and blackish spotty bits seen here (sorry for the lack of technical language!). It seems to vary relatively little, whilst C.molliculana does vary quite a lot. It also seems to be taking over the world. It has been by far the most common Cochylis in my garden for a few years now even though it only appeared on the scene in the UK during the 1990s.
ReplyDeleteMaybe but the thorax looks plain dark grey to me and in molliculana is more mottled. Moreover, C. dubitana can be more extensively marked in the median area of the forewing and molliculana is usually more creamy whereas this is very white. I don't thikn we can be definitive here.
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