I trapped in Finemere Wood last night for the usual three hours from dusk and, as expected for such a mild evening, got plenty of moths (450+). Small Quaker was out in force (258 counted and they were still piling in while I was packing up). Small Brindled Beauty (52) was the next most abundant species, followed by Common Quaker (33) and Yellow Horned (25). The remainder comprised Diurnea fagella, Acleris ferrugana/notana, Tortricodes alternella, March Moth, Shoulder Stripe, Early Thorn, Pale Brindled Beauty, Oak Beauty, Dotted Border, Spring Usher, Engrailed, Red Chestnut, Lead-coloured Drab, Clouded Drab, Satellite, Chestnut, Early Grey & Grey Shoulder-knot. No surprises but it was good to see such a lot of activity!
 |
| Yellow Horned, Finemere 9th March |
 |
| Shoulder Stripe, Finemere 9th March |
 |
| Lead-coloured Drab, Finemere 9th March |
Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks
At least one source I have seen says that Lead-coloured Drab is always grey. I take it that this is not necessarily the case. The wing tips in the photo do look much more rounded than Clouded Drab. Is that a more reliable feature?
ReplyDeleteHi Keith,
ReplyDeleteIn MoGBI the ground colour is given as "grey-brown to purplish brown" and that's what the camera has picked out in the close-up image above. The impression from a distance, though, is of a grey moth and they're often lighter than this one. Those lighter ones also usually show at least a couple (sometimes more) black dashes in the sub-terminal line. Overall size and shape are very similar to Common Quaker (so it is smaller than your average Clouded Drab) and as you say the wing-tips are rounded, but most importantly the antennae of the male are visibly feathered to the naked eye as on this one. The antennae on Clouded Drab appear simple to the naked eye although under magnification they do have small pectinations. Lead-coloured Drab's caterpillar food-plants (aspen & poplars) are common in Bucks north of the Chilterns so I'd expect the moth to turn up in your garden at some point.
Cheers Dave.
Delete