I'd be grateful for help with this micro whose 'fan' pattern I don't recognise, though in other respects it seems to fit Agonopterix alstromoeriana which also came two nights ago. We have Alstromerias in the garden, the famous 'Poor Man's Orchid' now also of filling station fame. Perhaps the lines are wing-fold creases? Meanwhile it was very cheering to get the first showy moth of the year last night, this Oak Beauty below. Martin Wainwright Thrupp Oxon
Update: Thanks so much Dave as ever for your advice below. Sorry to be thanking you this way and hope to get my Google side of things sorted before long. Much appreciated, M
Hello Martin,
ReplyDeleteYour moth is a rather well-preserved individual of Agonopterix heracliana/ciliella (they've usually lost many of their scales by this time of year, after hibernation, so aren't as well marked as this one). Agonopterix alstromeriana is a much more brightly coloured moth than this which also hibernates, quite a common species which I imagine you will get in your garden too. However, your Alstroemerias are safe because its larvae actually use the far more sinister plant Conium maculatum, otherwise known as Hemlock.