Having previously bemoaned the lack of some of the early spring moths, the fears that I may miss out on them has proven partially unfounded. There was a decent haul last night, with three new species for the year.
The first species I noticed was a
March Moth resting on the wall. This is species I did not record at all until last year, when I recorded them very frequently. Whether this will be the first of many remains to be seen. Foodplants include hawthorn and oak, both of which are frequent in my area.
 |
| March Moth |
There were two
Pale Brindled Beauty also resting on the wall by the trap. This is quite a variable species, ranging from well-makred to quite plain, and is a subtly attractive moth. The males and females of both March Moth and Pale Brindled Beauty are very easy to tell apart, mainly because the females are wingless (apterous). This is a feature found in several of the moths that emerge in the winter.
 |
| Pale Brindled Beauty |
A moth which is more noticably attractive is the attractive
Oak Beauty, and there was one of these around the trap. One of the highlights of the spring is when the first Oak Beauty appears, it is a regular crowd pleaser. It is in fact quite a common moth and under recorded as few people trap regular before the spring gets going properly.
 |
| Oak Beauty |
 |
| Oak Beauty |
No comments:
Post a Comment