Opinions please.

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swampthing
Posts: 81
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:48 pm

Opinions please.

Post by swampthing »

Hi,

I know it's a bit worn, but I would more than welcome opinions as to whether this is dark chestnut, or just a plain, old chestnut. Found resting at the foot of a birch tree near a path-level street lamp last night in Romiley. Struggling to catch much at the moment, so I don't want what I do catch to pass me by as just a 'maybe'. Thanks.

Andy B.
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stevehind
Posts: 2908
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:44 am
Location: Higher Poynton, Cheshire

Re: Opinions please.

Post by stevehind »

Hi Andy

Chestnut. The apex of the wing is too rounded for Dark Chestnut.

There have been a few moths in the trap here this past week.
Last nights catch:
190321.JPG
Regards
Steve
PaulHopkins
Posts: 456
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2014 4:11 pm
Location: Bromborough, Wirral. MapMate Recorder

Re: Opinions please.

Post by PaulHopkins »

Perfect conditions here in Bromborough last night, the counts reflect this:

Small Quaker 75
Common Quaker 30
Brindled Pug 16
Twin-spotted Quaker 14
Hebrew Character 8
Double-striped Pug 4
Oak Nycteoline 3
Clouded Drab 2
Ypsolopha ustella 1
Acleris ferrugana/notana 1
Dotted Border 1
Engrailed 1
Oak Beauty 1
Pale Pinion 1

Not quite a match for a report I saw yesterday from Monmounthshire: 882 moths in a trap, 704 of which were Small Quaker!

Cheers
Paul
stevehind
Posts: 2908
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:44 am
Location: Higher Poynton, Cheshire

Re: Opinions please.

Post by stevehind »

Dark Chestnut rarely survives till the spring.
We had problems with spring records of Dark Chestnut when working on the National Moth Atlas and had to exclude them all.
If anyone does have any photos of spring Dark Chestnuts from Cheshire, I would be interested in trying to verify them.
Regards
Steve
swampthing
Posts: 81
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:48 pm

Re: Opinions please.

Post by swampthing »

Thank you, Steve. I had entered the moth as Chestnut in my records anyway. The only reason I thought it might be a 'Dark' was because of the state it was in, and it was rather small (wing length 13mm). This, of course, may have been due to the wings being abraded. I am certainly not going to argue, just glad to find a moth it's been that bad here.
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