I started to enter the records from Tuesday night into my database and remembered that there were some identifications which I hadn't resolved. The species count of 74 made it another record-breaking night and added twelve more entries to the all-time garden list. The identification of so many unfamiliar moths is very interesting detective work - but also time-consuming! Any help with those below is appreciated.
There were two nice finds amongst the macros: a White Satin (not included in this post) and a Cream-bordered Green Pea. There was also a moth whose identity has completely eluded me - forewing 19mm, and another that looks a bit like a variant of a Short-cloaked Minor (but is probably something else entirely).
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Cream-bordered Green Pea
Newton Longville 23rd June
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| Unidentified |
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| Side view |
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| Short-cloaked Minor?? |
Amongst the micros, I have provisionally identified
Gypsonoma sociana,
Lobesia reliquana and
Ancylis achatana.
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| Gypsonoma sociana? Newton Longville 23rd June |
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| Lobesia reliquana? Newton Longville 23rd June |
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| Ancylis achatana? Newton Longville 23 June |
Tim Arnold
Newton Longville, Bucks
Hi Tim,
ReplyDeleteOK, from the top...yes to Cream-bordered Green Pea which is probably found more frequently in the north of Bucks than anywhere else in the county. A nice little moth, especially when fresh! The next one I can't really get a feel for. It may be something like Cnephasia longana but do you have another view of it (preferably not from on top?). I'm not quite sure where your "Short-cloaked Minor" came from (is that a species new to science?!). It is actually a micro, Endotricha flammealis, one of those deceptive pyrales like Gold Triangle which have two different resting positions. Then you have Gypsonoma sociana, Ditula angustiorana and Eucosma hohenwartiana agg. If the Eucosma is a female and you still have her, I'd suggest sending her to Peter because it would be nice to get at least one to species level in your garden (hohenwartiana, fulvana and parvulana are inseparable without dissection and we have all three in Bucks).
Many thanks, Dave. I have a red face on several counts! The "Short-cloaked Minor" is a mental hybrid (with a Cloaked Minor) as a result of posting in a hurry before dinner, not properly reading my notebook (which says "Short-cloaked Moth?" and failing to proof-read - I even copied the error into the caption!
ReplyDeleteI've added a view of the mystery moth from the side. Isn't it too large for Cnephasia longana? (Forewing length is about 18-19mm: the lines on my graph paper are 2mm apart). I still have it.
I'm kicking myself for not recognising Endotricha flammealis, which I've had several times before (in 2018 and 2019), albeit in its other pose which is easily recognised. And I seem not to have looked at the Ditula augustiorana from above and become fixated on finding a match to a side-on view, despite the fact that the moth that I recorded immediately preceding it was Archips xylosteana, which I had deliberately photographed from above.
Unfortunately, the Eucosma flew off a fraction of a second after I took the photograph, so I can't send it to Peter.
Hi Tim,
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding the second picture of your unknown. As you say, rather too large for Cnephasia longana so I'd say we're not going to get anywhere with that one with any degree of certainty unless it is dissected. My best guess now is something like Chilo phragmitella which has lost its palps as well as one wing-tip.