A group shot of last night's moths.
The Mervs obviously thought they were too posh to join the others!
Only one missing, a LtB.A. that had a prior engagement...inside a Blue tit I believe.
Ina
Friday 31 October 2014
Thursday 30 October 2014
Another Merv view
Only one photo I'm afraid, but last night's moths included 4 Merveille all with black band Sarah!
19 Epirrita aggs, Spruce Carpet, Grey Pine Carpet, 1 extremely worn but still recognisable Common Marbled Carpet, Red-Green Carpet, Red Sword-grass, Chestnut, Yellow-line Quaker and Green-brindled Crescent. The warm Southerlies over the next couple of nights may well be more productive.
19 Epirrita aggs, Spruce Carpet, Grey Pine Carpet, 1 extremely worn but still recognisable Common Marbled Carpet, Red-Green Carpet, Red Sword-grass, Chestnut, Yellow-line Quaker and Green-brindled Crescent. The warm Southerlies over the next couple of nights may well be more productive.
Sunday 26 October 2014
December Moth
Saturday 25 October 2014
Sunday 19 October 2014
.... and Two Micros
We also caught these two micros. The first I believe is Acleris sparsana. The second I think is one of the family Blastobasidae - probably Blastobasis lacticolella. Under the microscope we could see the strongly upcurved labial palps, the well developed tongue and the base of the antenna (scape) with a scaly tuft (pecten) but the antennae were quite short (well under the stated 2/3 length of the forewing). Further advice would be appreciated.
Carolyn
Carolyn
Blastobasis lacticolella (FL 9mm) |
Top View |
More Autumn Moths....
A balmy night from three traps -two woodland + one garden - produced thirteen macro species. These included Feathered Thorn, Satellite, two variations of November Moth (Epirrita sp), Black Rustic, Flounced Chestnut and Merveille du Jour.
Carolyn & Evan
Carolyn & Evan
Feathered Thorn |
Satellite |
November Moth 1 |
November Moth 2 |
Friday 17 October 2014
Changes to the blog
You may have noticed that we have changed the layout of the blog.
Details about contacting the group or the county recorders can be obtained by clicking on the "Contact us" button.
Information and guidance on how to create and submit moth records can be obtained by clicking on the "Submitting records" button.
Details about contacting the group or the county recorders can be obtained by clicking on the "Contact us" button.
Information and guidance on how to create and submit moth records can be obtained by clicking on the "Submitting records" button.
Coed Y Bont moths
There were hundreds of other creatures from midges to blue bottles.
Recently the expert Lichenologist Ray Woods had a look around and found some rare species so next year Ina we'll have to get to grips with the micros!
Saturday 11 October 2014
Big micros, leaf mines, and Mompha langiella
I put a light out for a couple of hours yesterday evening and was pleasantly surprised at the number of moths around in my garden, inc. Green-brindled Crescent, Blair's Shoulder Knot, Pale Mottled Willow, and my largest ever Blastobasis lacticolella at over 12mm long:
Found some leaf mines along Plas Crug in Aberystwyth this morning - i think the first one is Stigmella microtheriella (on Hazel), not sure about the second (on Elm i think):
and I now know not to look for moths in Holly - the leaf mine I found belongs to a fly.
Finally, what I believe is Mompha langiella landed on the window this afternoon; Ina's list suggests that it is rarely recorded in the county:
Simon
Found some leaf mines along Plas Crug in Aberystwyth this morning - i think the first one is Stigmella microtheriella (on Hazel), not sure about the second (on Elm i think):
and I now know not to look for moths in Holly - the leaf mine I found belongs to a fly.
Finally, what I believe is Mompha langiella landed on the window this afternoon; Ina's list suggests that it is rarely recorded in the county:
Simon
....and Two Migrants
Mixed Trapping Session
From our valley this morning we had our first Satellite and Chestnuts and from a certain garden in Aberystwyth the catch included Blair's Shoulder-knot, two colour forms of Lunar Underwing, Feathered Ranunculus and Yellow-line Quaker.
Carolyn & Evan
Carolyn & Evan
Blair's Shoulder-knot |
Lunar Underwing - dark form |
Lunar Underwing - chestnut form |
Yellow-line Quaker |
Chestnuts....not 'roasting on an open fire'
Two traps at Ynys-hir last night, the Actinic doing slightly better than the MV light for both numbers and species.
The first Chestnuts we have seen this season and first Large Wainscots too.
Others, in no particular order... CMCarpet, Red-green C, Spruce C, Grey Pine C, Pine C. Red-line Quaker, Blk Rustic, Green-brindled Cres, Lt Emerald, Marveille du Jour.
Quality of photos is not too great, sorry!
Ina & Tony
The first Chestnuts we have seen this season and first Large Wainscots too.
Others, in no particular order... CMCarpet, Red-green C, Spruce C, Grey Pine C, Pine C. Red-line Quaker, Blk Rustic, Green-brindled Cres, Lt Emerald, Marveille du Jour.
Chestnut |
Large Wainscot |
Green-brindled Crescent |
Ina & Tony
Thursday 9 October 2014
Distribution Map for the Delicate
Following Liz's capture of a Delicate while on the 'Patricia' I had a look to see what Delicates had been caught here in Ceredigion.
The last sightings were in 2006 & 2008 at Ynyshir, IBERS (Welsh Plant Breeding Station) and Bont Goch respectively.
Evan
The last sightings were in 2006 & 2008 at Ynyshir, IBERS (Welsh Plant Breeding Station) and Bont Goch respectively.
Evan
Wednesday 8 October 2014
Intercepted at sea
You can imagine that passengers and crew were either under-whelmed or bemused by this event although the galley slave did volunteer the fact that there had been an owl on board the previous week; that might have elicited more interest I suppose.
Thursday 2 October 2014
Bryotrophas
After Ina's request, here's an attempt at showing you the various parts of the male genitalia, used for identifying species. I've annotated a moth identified today as Bryotropha similis, which is another county first for Ceredigion, along with politella the other day. Now politella is a much more exotic looking moth (I refer to its private parts), but see if you can find the equivalent parts from the notes and names on similis. Similis was found at Ynys-hir.
Key: Aedeagus is the phallus of the male
Thorn shield: this is one of the diagnostics and is a number of spikes comprising what is termed a thorn-shield. In similis it is supposed to be up to 100, although here it is over 100.
Gnathos: This supports the anal tube and its shape is another diagnostic
Sacculus: this forms the base of the valvae, which in themselves are 2 wing-like structures.
Vinculum: In Bryotrohas these often have a knee-cap shape and the lack of one in similis is another identifying feature
So to id it as similis, I counted the number of spikes in the thorn-shield, looked at the shape of the gnathos - in this case sharply bent and wider after the bend tapering to a point, the lack of a knee on the vinculum and finally the wing pattern of the adult moth. I used the key in MBGBI volume 4(2) plus an additional publication called The Genus Bryotropha in the Western Palearctic by Karsholt & Rutten.
The first image shows the parts with names, the second is the recent politella of Liz and the third, to help, is another politella from another county but in a shape that is similar to the similis, so it might be easier to relate them all.
Why are some backgrounds blue and others fawn? I choose what to make the background in the complex process of photographing microscopic parts and in some cases I feel that pale blue accentuates the features and in others fawn does the same. Rarely I will use a pale yellow.
Key: Aedeagus is the phallus of the male
Thorn shield: this is one of the diagnostics and is a number of spikes comprising what is termed a thorn-shield. In similis it is supposed to be up to 100, although here it is over 100.
Gnathos: This supports the anal tube and its shape is another diagnostic
Sacculus: this forms the base of the valvae, which in themselves are 2 wing-like structures.
Vinculum: In Bryotrohas these often have a knee-cap shape and the lack of one in similis is another identifying feature
So to id it as similis, I counted the number of spikes in the thorn-shield, looked at the shape of the gnathos - in this case sharply bent and wider after the bend tapering to a point, the lack of a knee on the vinculum and finally the wing pattern of the adult moth. I used the key in MBGBI volume 4(2) plus an additional publication called The Genus Bryotropha in the Western Palearctic by Karsholt & Rutten.
The first image shows the parts with names, the second is the recent politella of Liz and the third, to help, is another politella from another county but in a shape that is similar to the similis, so it might be easier to relate them all.
Why are some backgrounds blue and others fawn? I choose what to make the background in the complex process of photographing microscopic parts and in some cases I feel that pale blue accentuates the features and in others fawn does the same. Rarely I will use a pale yellow.
Bryotropha similis Ynys-hir - Ina Smith Bryotropa politella - Liz Snell Bryotropha politella - from Bucks with aedeagus separated
Peter Hall
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Wednesday 1 October 2014
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