Sloe Pug?

[andrewjcharlton]

This small pug (wingspan 20mm) is worn, but the red/brown band on the abdomen is still quite obvious.
Is this Sloe Pug?

Thank you.

Andrew

[SteveH]

Hi Andrew,

yes I reckon you are on a winner there with Sloe.

Cheers,
Steve

[Greg]

Hi Andrew and Steve,

How about Slender Pug?

Greg

[andrewjcharlton]

Thank you both.
From photos I can find of Slender, this one doesn't seem to have a prominent discal spot, and the red/brown band on the abdomen seems well-demarcated whereas on Slender it seems more diffuse. I've never seen either species before. I've posted another photo if that helps.

[Greg]

Hi Andrew

If you have a copy of Brian Hancock's Pug Moths of NW England, or if not, Brian's web site. Your second photo is an almost exact copy of Brian's Slender Pug photo on page 26 showing small but slightly elongated discal spots,rounded wings and abdominal band similar in size and shape to your moth.
Mine is only a suggestion of course.

Regard
Greg

[JulianB]

I think I'd also vote for Slender; the pattern does seem to fit better.

Cheers, Julian

[andrewjcharlton]

Thank you all.
I think I'm convinced it is Slender, so that's how I'll record it unless there are any objections.

Andrew

[stevehind]

Hi Andrew

I would agree with Slender Pug.

Could I also request that you not use that bright green background again as it is too strong and distorts the colours on the moth.

Regards
Steve

[andrewjcharlton]

Hi Steve,

thank you for confirming the Slender Pug for me.

With regard to the photos, I've used the same setup for over 10 years. Almost all my 'record' photos are taken with artificial light, with the moth on a green paper sheet within a shallow white plastic tray, the sides of which help to reflect and diffuse what is otherwise unidirectional light.
Personally I always considered the green sheet to give a useful neutral background to display the moth for diagnostic purposes, and also to give me a consistent reference colour for determining the quality of the exposure and colour balance (always a problem with predominantly artificial light).
I have found this method more convenient than trying to use only daylight and risking losing the moth trying to record it in a more 'natural' setting . As the colour spectrum of natural light changes with time of day, I seem to get a different colour balance depending on when I take the shots of moths.

I guess also image colour is affected both by the settings on the digital camera and by the display settings of the equipment being used to view the digital image (for example there is a colour difference between the monitor on my camera and my PC screen). I recall that when photographing my image of Spanish Carpet (in Manley and on UK moths) I was able to picture both colour forms with the same moth, just by altering the light balance setting on the camera!

I've never worried too much about this, since shape and markings seem to have more bearing on identifications than subtleties of colour. However, now you have pointed out that my green background is a problem for some, I'm very happy to experiment again with alternatives.
There are some consistently excellent photos appearing from some contributors to the forum (but also many of lesser quality). I know Brian Hancock's pug book details his photographic technique, but it might be interesting to hear from other people how they go about getting consistently good results and 'natural' colours.

Thanks again for your thought-provoking comment,

Andrew

[stevehind]

Hi Andrew
I think the photographers recommend using a grey background.
Have a look at some of Tom Tams photos on the Northumberland Moth Group
http://www.northumberlandmoths.org.uk/
Regards
Steve