The moth trap is seeing plenty of action at the moment, and the new species for the garden keep on coming. This morning I found tow long-desired new species, as well as a mystery to be solved.
The first of the former was this cracking male Black Arches Lymantria monacha, a beautiful species of moth. I have looked on enviosuly as others have posted pictures of this species, and was delighted to find this resting on the wall of the house. This is a woodland species, which may explain why it has taken a while for it to find its way to me.
 |
| Black Arches Lymantria monacha |
The second new species was the curious Pale Prominent Pterostoma palpina. This is one of those species that you need to look at closely to work out what is going on. The long 'face' is formed by the extended labial palps and the 'tail' is formed of two tufts at the end of the abdomen.
 |
| Pale Prominent Pterostoma palpina |
The mystery moth was this species of pug. I did not recognise it, but close examination revealed this to be a Golden-rod Pug Eupithecia virgaureata. This is tricky species and I would not fancy having an attempt if it was not a fresh specimen. The tuft of white scales on the top of the abdomen, subtlety of wing shape and fine detail of wing marking help to distinguish it from the similar Grey Pug E. subfuscata.
 |
| Golden-rod Pug Eupithecia virgaureata |
No comments:
Post a Comment