May I ask for advice on this rather tattered arrival which I think is a worn Ringed China-mark. I also had the wonderfully sinister dark form of the Box Bush moth with its nod to the Purple Emperor - is the variation in this species going to be the next Peppered Moth discussion? Plus a wiskery Black Arches, a moth which always gets a warm welcome here. Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon
Hi Martin,
ReplyDeleteYes to Parapoynx stratiotata (Ringed China-mark) which seems to have become very common everywhere I've been trapping over the past couple of weeks. The dark form of Cydalima perspectalis (Box-tree Moth) is fairly frequent amongst its population so no doubt we'll be seeing more of them - to me it looks rather sinister, although as you say there is a hint of Purple Emperor about it. Talking of Emperors, I had a large female on my garden buddleia a few days ago - who says they don't nectar from flowers? Strange, as I hadn't noticed any shortage of their usual feeding choice (dog poo)!