A couple of nights ago I was very pleased to find a specimen of Marasmarcha lunaedactyla (Crescent Plume) to MV light in my garden at Harwell (VC22), since I had not seen it before. As I went through the egg trays I was surprised to find specimen after specimen, in various states of wear, ending up with a tally of 17. Is this one of those examples of a sudden burst of a species in a given year (one thinks of the Beet moth, Scrobipalpa ocellatella, last year) or simply that a colony exists locally and I happened to catch the moment when they appeared in strength? The larval foodplant is Restharrow, a leguminous plant of grassy places such as chalk downland. I have not noticed this plant locally, but the garden is on chalk and the Ridgeway and Berks Downs are not far away.
A couple of nights ago I was very pleased to find a specimen of Marasmarcha lunaedactyla (Crescent Plume) to MV light in my garden at Harwell (VC22), since I had not seen it before. As I went through the egg trays I was surprised to find specimen after specimen, in various states of wear, ending up with a tally of 17. Is this one of those examples of a sudden burst of a species in a given year (one thinks of the Beet moth, Scrobipalpa ocellatella, last year) or simply that a colony exists locally and I happened to catch the moment when they appeared in strength? The larval foodplant is Restharrow, a leguminous plant of grassy places such as chalk downland. I have not noticed this plant locally, but the garden is on chalk and the Ridgeway and Berks Downs are not far away.
ReplyDeleteAnd one came to my actinic light trap on the night of 24 June 23.
ReplyDelete