An unusual moth in the light trap this morning. I could immediately see a patch of glinting golden scales, but not in the same pattern as a Burnished Brass. Could this be a Scarce Burnished Brass? The dark cross lines, zigzag markings and 'patch' of gold match published pictures and photos well. Not a moth I have seen before, and of course, the time of year seems completely wrong. I would be interested to hear if there is another possibility. (Other moths in the trap this morning were Sprawler, Mottled Umber, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Epiphyas postvittana x3, Tachystola acroxantha x2). Peter Holland (Wallingford, VC22).
Hello Peter,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blog. That does look like a rather battered Scarce Burnished Brass to me too but it would be best to wait for an expert. You are not too far away from the Oxfordshire fens where there are colonies but a November record for such a rare moth, which is supposed to fly only in July and August, would be quite something!
Hi Peter
ReplyDeleteThe colour is a little odd and this had me reaching for Noctuidae Europeae (just in case) but there's nothing else it can be. Second brood or late emergence. Nothing in the atlas beyond august though so very interesting. Perhaps if the local breeding sites weretrapped in autumn others would be recorded. Early November is Slender Burnished Brass time, not SBB!
That will be the 31st record of Scarce BB on the Berkshire database, and the first since 2014. Of the records with dates, 20 are in July and 5 in August, with nothing later than 10 August.
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