 |
| Flame Shoulder, Ochropleura plecta. Hayes, 29 April 2015 |
I'm not seeing many moths yet in my garden trap, but here are a couple of common favourites turning up again for the first time this year. These are both fresh and pretty specimens and more of them will keep coming for several months.
The Flame Shoulder is easy to recognise with its distinctive striped wings. The caterpillar eats a range of plants and has no trouble finding food. The caterpillar of the Pale Mottled Willow eats seeds of many sorts and can establish itself where humans store grain, for example.
 |
| Pale Mottled Willow, Paradrina clavipalpis. . Hayes, 25 April 2015 |
This one is on my measuring paper, with 5mm squares. This is a lot easier than trying to get a moth to pose next to a ruler. Beginners sometimes have trouble recognising it, but those white flecks around the kidney-mark are very distinctive; there may be one or several and they might be in different positions, but if you see them you will know. There is a row of dark triangles along the leading edge of the wing to confirm the ID.
No comments:
Post a Comment