I am in catch-up mode. Almost three weeks ago, my computer suddenly started to emit a burning smell, so I stopped using it and took it for repair. That left me without the capability to transfer photographs off my camera and to convert them from the raw format. Consequently, I'm now going through records and photos of six nights of trapping (twice a week), entering the written records into my database, labelling photos and examining those where I had doubts about the identification. I caught lots of moths in the first couple of weeks, but the cooler and more windy weather this week has resulted in much smaller numbers.
Here is the first batch of moths for which I haven't reached a definite conclusion.
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Epiphyas postvittana
Newton Longville 18th May
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I think the first moth may be a female
Epiphyas postvittana: a species that I'm catching every night (except last night - no micros at all!). However, this would be a form I haven't seen before, with a strong net-like pattern; other details of the patterning also cause me doubt. Next, two pugs:
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| Ochreous Pug, Newton Longville 18th May |
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| Pug 2, Newton Longville, 20th May |
I have no good ideas for the first Pug: I initially wrote down Slender Pug and then crossed it out as the wing seems too pointed. The second Pug (poor photo: contrast substantially increased) may be an Angle-barred Pug: is it the unicolor form? Forewing length is 12mm.
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| Celypha lacunana, Newton Longville, 20th May |
The final moth (for now!) appears to be
Celypha lacunana, but as
C. rivulana and
C. cespitana are similar, I thought I should check. FL 8mm. An important factor for me is the pale finger extending from the outer edge of the inner cross-band, in this case reaching the outer cross-band.
Tim Arnold
Newton Longville, Bucks
Hello Tim,
ReplyDeleteThe first micro is indeed Epiphyas postvittana and I'm reasonably sure that the last one is Celypha lacunana. The first Pug looks good to me for Ochreous but I don't think I'd like to offer an opinion on the second, other than to say that I don't think it is Angle-barred. Angle-barred is a noticeably large beast, is a different shape to what you have there and should be quite dark in appearance. Of course, following your Marbled Pug find we shouldn't get too hung up on rarity value (!), but it may be worth mentioning that there are only six records for Bucks of Angle-barred and only three of those (all dissected) are post-millennium.
Thanks, Dave. I have updated the captions accordingly. I didn't keep the "Angle-barred", and as it doesn't seem to look right, I think I'll put it down as an Iidlio (if in doubt, leave it out).
ReplyDeleteAt first glance the second pug has a hint of Campanula Pug about it, but it would be very early and denotata lacks a dark band on the abdomen. The light is terrible which doesn't help and it's probably something ordinary like Freyer's. A number of people please take note that photographs of moths taken through plastic tubes are often difficult to interpret. Moreover, pugs need to be taken with their wings FLAT, not curved around a tube. Entomological suppliers supply card boxes with perspex bottoms. If you put the moths in the fridge for a few hours and knock them on to the base of box they will often be content to sit there happy to grip on the roughness of the card. Glass and plastic tubes are useless for anything other then smaller micros and the smallest macros. There is nothing for the moths to grip so they remain restless and soon lose a lot of scales.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Martin. When a moth is "frisky", I usually take a reserve photo straight in the tube in case the thing escapes before I can do anything else. Then I knock it onto a sheet of paper and immediately cover it with a large "bug pot" (open end down, of course). I can leave it in there to settle while I'm looking at other moths. If it settles down, I carefully open the other end of the pot - or remove the pot entirely - and photograph the moth on the paper with nothing in the way. Not all of them stay quiet, so I can end up with just the "reserve" photo taken with the moth in the tube: I should probably make more use of the fridge.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget you can always post it off to me for closer examination
ReplyDelete