I have searched in vain for the attached medium-sized macro that came to my Robinson trap in Wheatley on 10 July. It is so clearly marked that I can’t think why I can’t ID it ! Can anyone help ?
Also attached is a photo of another macro I’m not sure about.
Richard Harding
Hi Richard, you may have been put off recognizing these two moths because they are slightly different from the 'normal' specimens seen, and both are variable. The first is the Dun-bar, as shown by the characteristic shapes of the inner and outer cross-lines but mostly the oval and kidney marks are not white-outlined and seen so clearly (often all you see is the black dot in the kidney mark - for examples see the UTB Moth Atlas website - but also one like yours is illustrated in the WTL Field Guide). The second is a rather dark Coronet where usually the paler oval and kidney marks (and the white basal patch) are clearer - again compare to examples to the website and Field Guide.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, John. I had considered Dun-bar as a possibility but could not believe that the species could be so variable - a real education for me ! Ditto with the Coronet where I had a very dissimilar version in the same catch.
ReplyDelete