The arrival of the garden's first Double Square-spot last night (photos below) reminds me to point out that the once common confusion species, Triple-spotted Clay, seems to be close to extinction in our area these days. An acceptable record for Triple-spotted Clay would therefore need to be backed up by good evidence (clear photos, including views of the hind-wing, or preferably a specimen for dissection).
Triple-spotted Clay has a slightly narrower forewing and its ground colour usually has a purplish tinge when compared to the brownish-grey of a typical Double Square-spot (that should be the first sign of a candidate). The hind-wing will then need to be checked, dark grey as above for Double Square-spot, but in the case of Triple-spotted Clay it is usually a much lighter brownish colour which provides quite a contrast to that of the darker fore-wing.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.