Micros at Dibbinsdale LNR
Posted: Thu May 30, 2019 8:33 pm
My local patch at Dibbinsdale LNR, Bromborough, was teeming with micro moths when I went for a stroll this afternoon.
Every buttercup seemed to have several minuscule Glyphipterix simpliciella or Micropterix calthella nectaring/chomping pollen respectively. (They seem to stick with their own kind). I always hope to find another of the Micropterix species, but no joy so far. Not the easiest creatures to snap with an iPhone...
Or indeed film...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSYSjbWBGh4
I often wonder how to record these. I must have laid eyes on at least 1,000 of each species - so should I record them as quantity 1,000, or just 1 with a note saying "abundant"?
I thought this was probably a Bactra lancealana, but I don't think it's possible to ID it definitively from this pic:
I followed one of what I think is Epiblema cirsiana/scutulana for ages, without it settling long enough for a snap, until it happened across another one and began copulating with it - then it calmed down! I imagine it was a male which found a "calling" female. I see there's an aggregate for these two species in MapMate, is it OK to record as this?
Cheers
Paul
Every buttercup seemed to have several minuscule Glyphipterix simpliciella or Micropterix calthella nectaring/chomping pollen respectively. (They seem to stick with their own kind). I always hope to find another of the Micropterix species, but no joy so far. Not the easiest creatures to snap with an iPhone...
Or indeed film...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSYSjbWBGh4
I often wonder how to record these. I must have laid eyes on at least 1,000 of each species - so should I record them as quantity 1,000, or just 1 with a note saying "abundant"?
I thought this was probably a Bactra lancealana, but I don't think it's possible to ID it definitively from this pic:
I followed one of what I think is Epiblema cirsiana/scutulana for ages, without it settling long enough for a snap, until it happened across another one and began copulating with it - then it calmed down! I imagine it was a male which found a "calling" female. I see there's an aggregate for these two species in MapMate, is it OK to record as this?
Cheers
Paul