WINE RACE 2016 .. MATTc380 .. TRENT 353 .. BEN 347 ...... Garden species:- Macros 357, Micros 365, Total 722

Thursday, 28 July 2011

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
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4 comments:

  1. Bennyboymothman28 July 2011 at 20:41

    I thought the reliable way is the underwing rosy suffusion? heh it changes all the time!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Andy Banthorpe28 July 2011 at 22:25

    The Palo method was discredited some time ago. The hindwing method is reliable. With very worn moths dissection is the only reliable method

    ReplyDelete
  3. Andy Banthorpe28 July 2011 at 22:28

    I meant palp method!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Trent Duval29 July 2011 at 14:17

    Luckily these are nice and fresh at the mo, so the hindwings were well defined.
    Future catches will go on record as "aggs".
    I agree with both comments....the later the season, the more blurred the orangey diffusion,I checked a number of worn ones and there is no way of telling.
    As for the palps, I have seen Copper with a very tiny white dot on the tip of the palp and some with all dark palps,whereas the Svenssons I have checked (bear in mind it's only 3 ) have all had a larger white area as per the photo.
    Do palps wear ??
    It could be worse though...try Coleophoras (:0(

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