Would appreciate advice on the Thorn which I am hoping might be August.
The first Pug with a 22mm wingspan possibly Grey and the second with a 27mm wingspan maybe Wormwood??
I'm not sure about the first Pug. It could be Grey as you say, although I would have thought it was getting a bit late for that species now. The second one looks good for Wormwood.
Those two Thorns, August and September, seem to cause no end of problems! I think your example is September because the wings are held quite high, the two cross-lines come together very noticeably at the dorsum and the legs appear to be entirely yellow. August Thorn tends to hold its wings much flatter when at rest, the cross-lines are rather more parallel and on the legs the tibia are white.
Thank you for your comments especially the details on the Thorns. I have only had a few September here and no August so I am not at all familiar with them. I see your numbers were even lower than mine last night which is very unusual. Not by much 86 of 32 species with Ancylis badiana being a new record for the garden. At least the next few nights look as if they might be better.
Half the trouble with those two Thorns is that few of us see more than one or two of either species each year so we never really become all that familiar with them. August Thorn should keep going throughout August (the BC Atlas suggests beyond that although I've never had a September record of it) so there's always a chance it could still turn up.
August Thorn is very regular in my garden, September less so. Looking back at my records, it generally doesn't go beyond the end of August, but I have the following September records: Sept 5th 2006 (1); Sept 27th 2008 (2); Sept 22nd 2010 (1)
Hi Andy,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the first Pug. It could be Grey as you say, although I would have thought it was getting a bit late for that species now. The second one looks good for Wormwood.
Those two Thorns, August and September, seem to cause no end of problems! I think your example is September because the wings are held quite high, the two cross-lines come together very noticeably at the dorsum and the legs appear to be entirely yellow. August Thorn tends to hold its wings much flatter when at rest, the cross-lines are rather more parallel and on the legs the tibia are white.
Thank you for your comments especially the details on the Thorns. I have only had a few September here and no August so I am not at all familiar with them. I see your numbers were even lower than mine last night which is very unusual. Not by much 86 of 32 species with Ancylis badiana being a new record for the garden. At least the next few nights look as if they might be better.
ReplyDeleteHalf the trouble with those two Thorns is that few of us see more than one or two of either species each year so we never really become all that familiar with them. August Thorn should keep going throughout August (the BC Atlas suggests beyond that although I've never had a September record of it) so there's always a chance it could still turn up.
DeleteAugust Thorn is very regular in my garden, September less so. Looking back at my records, it generally doesn't go beyond the end of August, but I have the following September records: Sept 5th 2006 (1); Sept 27th 2008 (2); Sept 22nd 2010 (1)
DeleteLooking at the photo as it is I thought Maple for the top one, but its much too big. Could be Yarrow - suggest you keep it for Peter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts. I will add it to the next batch for Peter!
DeleteI wrote a little post on Thorns a few years ago that you might find useful. https://upperthamesmoths.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-thorny-subject.html
ReplyDeleteI've just done a Yarrow Pug for Steve Trigg this morning and it looks just like the image posted here, so a good chance.
ReplyDelete