Another potential Pale-shouldered Brocade last night. Despite getting a reasonable image of the eyes I don't know whether this is considered 'hairy' or not! (I assume we are not talking micro hairs on the eyes as you get in some hoverflies?) The images in Britishlepidoptera were not much help, though it does look rather more like the PSB than Dusky around the eyes. What's more it does seem to have fairly pale shoulders and a fairly pronounced white 'W' in the outer white cross-line.
Thanks
Phil
Hi Phil,
ReplyDeleteYou'd really need to look at the eyes under a hand lens or microscope in good light. However, it doesn't really matter in this case because this is indeed a nicely marked Pale-shouldered Brocade! It seems to be quite a good catch these days because in my experience its numbers have been dwindling over the past few years. It used to be a regular locally and in the garden but I saw only one last year (at Finemere Wood) and none at all in 2019.
Thanks Dave,
DeleteThis was at my Tilehouse Mansion site, so no doubt there will be more to find in Tilehouse Woods!
Phil