Can the the following Phyllonorycter micros be identified down to species level by photograph alone - I thought the first one might be P. quercifoliella on account of the length of the wing streak? If not, are they simply both recorded as Phyllonorycter sp. in iRecord, or as they are clearly distinct species, can they be further narrowed down to species groups (agg.) for record purposes?
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Hi Keith,
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy with the first as quercifoliella while the second is harrisella (another miner of oak). A few Phyllonorycters - like these two - can be done from a decent picture but there are many more cases where the adult moth would need dissection to get safely to species. Re iRecord, there's no harm in recording "Phyllonorycter species" if you have a decent image attached to the record which you think may help the verifier ID the species for you, but a record without an image would be a pointless exercise.
Thanks Dave. I suspected as much for the second. Incidentally, my prime garden trap is underneath the canopy of a mature oak, although neither of the two moths were inside the trap. You really have to look microscopically at the nearby surfaces to detect these tiny little specks of moths.
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