My spies are everywhere!

Discussion forum for all Moth (Micro & Macro-moths (Lepidoptera)) related topics.
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swampthing
Posts: 81
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:48 pm

My spies are everywhere!

Post by swampthing »

My brother, a train spotter since birth, was lucky enough to find this little beauty traversing Romiley Station car park yesterday afternoon. I sometimes tell him what named locos I've seen, so he returned the compliment... and how. From looking at the Moth Atlas, and reports from Cheshire site for 2018-19, this appears to be a first record of sycamore for the immediate area. Thankfully, I caught a garden first last night to ease the grief - a feathered gothic. Not rare, I know, but a new one is a new one, and very welcome.

More mundanely, please can someone with a knack for it supply a name to the micro. When I know I've asked about the same one twice, I will stop catching them!

Cheers,

Andy B.
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Sycamore larvae
Sycamore larvae
JulianB
Posts: 159
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2018 11:11 am
Location: East Cheshire Hills TEMPLATE

Re: My spies are everywhere!

Post by JulianB »

Hi Andy,

Your micro is quite a nice one I think, Lobesia littoralis - only 3 or 4 records in the county each year. Its foodplant is thrift, but it's apparently found inland on cultivated thrift in gardens as well as on the coast. Do you or a neighbour have a clump? Comparison shots of your moth next to a couple of photos I've lifted from the wonderful eakringbirds site. I almost gave up on matching this!

The sycamore larva is rather snappy as well - I hope it continues to spread in Cheshire. So well done to your brother - perhaps you can bring him across to an altogether better hobby!

Cheers, Julian
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Lobesia littoralis 1
Lobesia littoralis 1
Lobesia littoralis 2
Lobesia littoralis 2
swampthing
Posts: 81
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:48 pm

Re: My spies are everywhere!

Post by swampthing »

Thank you Julian; you're a star, and a patient one at that. I don't know about any local gardens having thrift, but I notice the Field Guide of Micros states that it will also use birds-foot trefoil, which has grown well locally this year. And to think I almost let this one out, as it was flying on the inside living room window the day after I had been trapping.

Cheers,

Andy B.
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