Pale Brindled Beautys can be quite variable moths, as these two individuals show.
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| Pale Brindled Beauty |
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| Pale Brindled Beauty |
Showing posts with label Pale Brindled Beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pale Brindled Beauty. Show all posts
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
A few more
There were a few more moths in the trap last night. Four of these were macro moths, with another Chestnut, along with the first Dotted Border and Pale Brindled Beautys of the year. There were also four micro moths, - Tortricodes alternella, the commonest micro here at this time of year.
Pale Brindled Beautys can be quite variable moths, as these two individuals show.
Pale Brindled Beautys can be quite variable moths, as these two individuals show.
Friday, 15 February 2013
Weather or not to trap
No, that is not a spelling mistake! There is not a lot of sense in putting on the trap in very cold weather, although several people do so, and indeed the Rothamstead Institute traps are on every day!
But I normally do not bother unless the temperature is likely to stay above 5 or 6 degrees.
So the forecast for last night was for 6° and the trap went on.
Not a lot in there, but one new moth for us (a Dotted Border, pictured) and another moth to test our identification skills.
I always thought the separation of the 3 "Brindled Beauties" was easy and in my post a few days ago I put up a photo which I called "Small". Earlier I had posted a photo of "Pale". You can look at these by clicking on the label list.
Mike said to me after the "Small" post that he would have named it "Pale" and this got me searching. However, the moth in the trap last night was very similar, and nothing like the "Pale" referred to above.
It just so happened that on Saturday there was the Shropshire Ento Day at Preston Montford (a superb day of great interest - thanks to all there) and so I took the moth with me to ask the experts - and there were several. And, in the end, it was decided that this is indeed a Pale Brindled Beauty, in spite of its at first sight very yellow appearance. Have a look and see if you agree!
But I normally do not bother unless the temperature is likely to stay above 5 or 6 degrees.
So the forecast for last night was for 6° and the trap went on.
Not a lot in there, but one new moth for us (a Dotted Border, pictured) and another moth to test our identification skills.
 |
| Dotted Border |
Mike said to me after the "Small" post that he would have named it "Pale" and this got me searching. However, the moth in the trap last night was very similar, and nothing like the "Pale" referred to above.
It just so happened that on Saturday there was the Shropshire Ento Day at Preston Montford (a superb day of great interest - thanks to all there) and so I took the moth with me to ask the experts - and there were several. And, in the end, it was decided that this is indeed a Pale Brindled Beauty, in spite of its at first sight very yellow appearance. Have a look and see if you agree!
 |
| Pale Brindled Beauty |
Monday, 17 December 2012
A thing of beauty is a ......
A couple of warmer nights led me to put the trap on and I was rewarded by a new moth to the site last night. Not only is it new, but it seems to be a very early record for this moth in Shropshire.
The moth, shown below, is a Pale Brindled Beauty, and I would not normally have expected it before the new year. It was one of only 5 moths in the trap this morning. On Wednesday there were 17 moths, but only Mottled Umbers and Winter moths.
Although there has not been much flying, there are still things to look out for, namely leaf miners, so a walk up the lower part of the Mynd, where there are still a few trees with leaves on, revealed some interesting mines and blotches.
Here is a photo of an oak leaf with a mine and 3 blotches and a second photo showing the mine more clearly.
There was a small larvae in one of the blotches and a pupa in the other. There are confusion species for both these types so one can only be certain by keeping the leaves over winter and hoping for adults to emerge. These two are likely to be S. atricapitella and P. quercifoliella. The mine and blotch shapes and pattern of the frass (larval droppings) are both pointers to the species within, as is the host plant. There is a very good leafminers web site.
The moth, shown below, is a Pale Brindled Beauty, and I would not normally have expected it before the new year. It was one of only 5 moths in the trap this morning. On Wednesday there were 17 moths, but only Mottled Umbers and Winter moths.
 |
| Pale Brindled Beauty |
Although there has not been much flying, there are still things to look out for, namely leaf miners, so a walk up the lower part of the Mynd, where there are still a few trees with leaves on, revealed some interesting mines and blotches.
Here is a photo of an oak leaf with a mine and 3 blotches and a second photo showing the mine more clearly.
 |
| Mine/blotches on oak leaf |
 |
| Stigmella mine + Phyllonorycter blotch |
There was a small larvae in one of the blotches and a pupa in the other. There are confusion species for both these types so one can only be certain by keeping the leaves over winter and hoping for adults to emerge. These two are likely to be S. atricapitella and P. quercifoliella. The mine and blotch shapes and pattern of the frass (larval droppings) are both pointers to the species within, as is the host plant. There is a very good leafminers web site.
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