27th July 2011...Double Lobed brings up double century !

Overnight min. temp:- 12.8 deg
Weather:- Overcast, calm
The 200th macro for the year with a Double Lobed was a nice milestone to reach, only my second record, and just to be sure a Svenssons Copper Underwing made it 201.
Flame Shoulder and Setaceous Hebrew Character showed up after a long absence.
Other highlights were 2 x Spectacle, 1 x Campion, 1 x White Satin Moth, Pine Hawkmoth, Nutmeg, Peppered Moth, Scalloped Oak.
Carpets:- Least, Common, Garden and Red Twin-spot, Small Waved Umber, Yellow Shell


DOUBLE LOBED

 Svenssons Copper Underwing is a species I like to get "out of the way" early when they are fresh. The differences in the underside of the hindwing is documented in the "Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland", by Paul Waring and Martin Townsend, although sometimes this is not always easy to differentiate.
UK Moths website state that there is a difference in the labial palps, Svenssons has white tips, whereas Copper has all dark. This seems to bear up with the examples I have looked at from my garden.
Personally, I think the overall appearance is a good rough guide, Copper Underwing looks neater with richer colouring, Svenssons always looks a little scruffy.
Unscientific it may be but it usually proves correct on fresh specimens.
It proved too fiddly to put up any pics of the underwings.

COPPER UNDERWING



SVENSSONS COPPER UNDERWING



SVENSSONS COPPER UNDERWING showing white tips to labial palps

 Garden tally for 2011 :-
341 species, 201 macro and 140 micro
*** I have since had confirmation that Vitula biviella 1478b, caught on 20th July, has been accepted by the county recorder.
So the total is now 342 species...201 macro, 141 micro