Westcott, Bucks

There was a little flurry of micro-moth activity here last night out of a total catch of 17 moths from 14 different species.  They included a single migrant Plutella xylostella and the tortricoid moths shown below:

Likely Acleris ferrugana, Westcott 12th November

Acleris schalleriana, Westcott 12th November

Acleris variegana, Westcott 12th November

Epiphyas postvittana male, Westcott 12th November

Epiphyas postvittana female, Westcott 12th November

Acleris ferrugana needs dissection to separate from Acleris notana.  This example won't be checked because one was confirmed here at the beginning of the year and I only ever seem to get ferrugana in the garden.  They are both species which over-winter as adults, as is Acleris schalleriana, and could appear again on warmer nights early in the new year.  Acleris variegana, on the other hand, is single-brooded locally between July and October, although increasingly these days it seems to keep flying into November and I've even had a December record (on the 5th, in 2005).  Epiphyas postvittana, the infamous Light Brown Apple Moth from Australia, can be found in any month of the year and there is a marked difference in size, shape and markings between the smaller male and larger female.  Coupled with the fact that both sexes are quite variable, this can often lead to identification problems for the unwary.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks