Still not firing on all cylinders...

[SteveH]

Still not firing on all cylinders...:

This morning was just marginally better than recent times, with 22 species in the trap but not that many more individual moths. Best of the bunch was our first Elephant Hawk-moth of the year.

Like Mel, I took the opportunity to run some of the (very few) micros through the new micro field guide, and it wasn't particularly useful I have to say. Granted I deliberately picked three Scoparids to test it on, which are usually pre-fixed with the word 'dreaded', but nonetheless, I was left with no ID with one of the three and an incorrect ID with the other two. Not particularly surprising really. Goaters' "British Pyralid Moths" has a much better treatment of the family, but that is to be expected given it covers just a fraction of the species.

The new book itself I feel misses a trick, with too many of the (beautiful) illustrations themselves being micro! The tortrices are nicely done but others are really too small to be that useful - without the use of a lens, but they have wisely not attempted to do anything with the Nepticulids apart from Stigmella aurella as a sample of what they all (pretty much) look like. There are LOTS of photos of leafmines however which is actually a goldmine for us mere mortals that are still learning about that part of micro-moth lifecycles.

Don't get me wrong.. it is a superb book and a long overdue addition to the bookshelf (and pocket when in the field!)

Cheers,
Steve

[stevehind]

Nothing special in my trap either !

Had a stroll down to Park Pit, Poynton this morning and found a few species. Crambus lathoniellus was the most common and easily disturbed from the grass. Flushed a single Pea Moth from amongst the vetches and a number of Aethes cnicana from the Marsh Thistles. Full list follows:

0010 Eriocrania salopiella - tenanted mines on birch
0148 Nemophora degeerella
0385 Anthophila fabriciana
0493 Coleophora serratella - larval cases
0504 Coleophora lusciniaepennella - larval cases
0787 Bryotropha terrella
0945 Aethes cnicana
1087 Orthotaenia undulana
1255 Cydia ulicetana
1257 Cydia nigricana - Pea Moth
1293 Chrysoteuchia culmella - Garden Grass-veneer
1301 Crambus lathoniellus
1334 Scoparia ambigualis
1437 Acrobasis consociella - larval spinnings on oak seedlings
1727 Xanthorhoe montanata - Silver-ground Carpet
2069 Tyria jacobaeae - Cinnabar

Regards,
Steve

[SteveH]

Beautiful photo of A.cnicana Steve

Strolling on my local patch today turned up:

Anthophila fabriciana
Eriocrania subpurpurella - mines on oak
Coleophora seratella - numerous larval cases
Aethes cnicana - On Marsh Thistle
Aphelia paleana - Timothy Tortrix
Ptycholoma lecheana - the second this year
Celypha lacunana
Ancylis achatana
Epiblema cirsiana - On Marsh Thistle
Chrysoteuchia culmella
Crambus lathoniellus
Eudonia pallida
Eupithecia vulgata - Common Pug
Epirrhoe alternata - Common Carpet
Camptogramma bilineata - Yellow Shell
Xanthorhoe montanata - Silver-ground Carpet
Tyria jacobaeae - Cinnabar
Rivula sericealis - Straw Dot

[stevehind]

One species I forgot to note from yesterday were the mines of Eriocrania subpurpurella, which were fairly common on the oak trees. Is that what you meant when you referred to 'Esperia sulphurella - mines on oak' ?

A little better in the garden trap last night with Coleophora mayrella, Freyer's Pug and Small Clouded Brindle all new for the year

Regards,
Steve

[SteveH]

Hi Steve,

Absolutely ..... a severe typo if ever there was one!

Cheers,
Steve