June Moths - the Micros

The convention of Micro and Macro moths has emerged over a long period of time without really having a clear basis for the split. It is true that the Macros are usually bigger but that is not always the case. Micros are also considered to be more evolutionarily primitive but again that is not always true. A number of these privative moths are comparable in size with the Macros and are thus included as honorary Macros. 

In practice, it would seem that, if a moth has not been assigned to the group Macro then it is part of the larger group of all the others and is thus classified as a Micro. All very confusing but with good field guides the split should not cause any real problems.

Perhaps the biggest difference is that the Micros being smaller and thus harder to find and to identify have been less studied, leaving gaps in our knowledge and a lack of easily accessed information on them. It is only really with the publication in 2012 of The Field Guide to the Micro Moths of Great Britain and Ireland that the area of study became more accessible to mere mortals like myself.

Grey Gorse Piercer - Cydia succedana

There are over 1,600 of these smaller moths that have been identified in Great Britain and Ireland. They vary in size with front wings from 3mm up to around 24mm. The longhorn below comes in at the lower end at around 5mm whilst the Bee Moth can be up to 18mm.

Meadow Longhorn - Cauchas rufimitrella

Bee Moth - Aphomia sociella

Triple-barred Argent - Argyresthia trifasciata

Cherry Bark Tortrix - Harmony formosana

 

Yellow-faced Bell - Notocelia cynosbatella 

Ringed China Mark - Parapoynx stratiotata

Garden Pebble - Evergestis forficalis

Crescent Bell - Epinotia bilunana

Olive Pearl - Udea Olivalis

Dark-boardered Pearl - Evergestis limbata

Common Birch Bell - Epinnotia immundana

Dark-barred Twist - Syndemis musculana

False Cacao - Ephestia unicolorella

 Small Grey - Eudonia mercurella

Meal Moth - Pyralis farinalis

Cinerous Pearl - Anania fuscalis

Small Magpie - Hanania hortulata

Rough-winged Conch - Phtheochroa rugosana

Codling Moth - Cydia pomonella

Codling Moth - Cydia pomonella

Grass Veneers are a small group of moths from the Crambidae family. They rest, usually on grass stems, with wings wrapped around their bodies and are difficult to spot unless you know exactly where they landed.

Little Grass-veneer - Platytes cerussella

Hook-streak Grass-veneer - Crambus lathoniellus

Inlaid Grass-veneer - Crambus pascuella

I still have a few pictures of Micros to identify but I think it is going to take me some time to complete the task. I have a similar challenge with Pugs, small moths from the Macro group, mostly around 10mm in wing length. They look easy to identify in the field guide but in practice it is a lot harder. They are a delicate moth that do not stay in pristine condition for long and with melanistic forms to contend with as well it makes them difficult to identify with certainty. I have a lot to learn.

June Moths - the Macros

The mothing was very slow during the early part of the year, then, early June and what for me, had been a dearth of moths had turned into a flood. Two nights trapping moths and a few other specimens spotted whilst out butterflying and I had enough work in photographing, identifying, and recording to keep me going for three days solid. 

My greatest surprise was not the moths but was just how tolerant Sue seemed to my withdrawal from the normal family routine. Or perhaps it's just that this has now become the normal routine, be it moths, butterflies, birds, insects, anything else that moves and lots of things that don't. Fortunately it no longer includes Orchids, I seem to be over that phase.

So, onto the moths and for this blog I am just looking at a few of the more interesting Macros seen during June. The next blog will hopefully cover the Micros and perhaps an explanation of the difference between the two groups. 

Mostly flying at night and displaying a beauty that few people will ever see, I never cease to be amazed by the  variation in colour, pattern and shape from this group of insects, 

First up, the Toadflax Brocade, one of my favourites and fortunately a regular visitor to the garden.

Toadflax Brocade - Calophasia lunula

Toadflax Brocade - Calophasia lunula

Swallow Prominent and Pebble Prominent, both impressive moths and firsts for the garden list.

Swallow Prominent - Pheosia tremula

Pebble Prominent - Notodonta ziczac

A Riband Wave and a much rarer if slightly tatty Portland Ribbon Wave

Riband Wave - Idaea aversata

Portland Ribbon Wave - Idaea degeneraria

Light Emerald - Campaea margaritata

Nutmeg - Discestra trifoli

An Eyed Hawkmoth. The eyes are on the hind wing and it flashes them when threatened. The field guide says "unmistakable, eye-spots on pink hindwing are diagnostic". I couldn't make it work. I poked it, I made loud noises behind it, I gave it a good talking to on its future prospects if it didn't show me its eyes but none of it worked. I sat watching it for hours camera in hand but there were no eye-spots and no picture. In the end I carried it outside but even then it seemed quite happy and didn't want to leave. Finally after warming up its wings for a couple of minutes, whilst sitting on my hand, it took to the air, did a couple of circuits round my head and then disappeared into the distance, eye-spots still completely concealed.

Eyed Hawkmoth - Smerinthus ocellata

I now realise that presenting the moths in this way does not give any indication of scale. The Hawkmoth above is big, it has a front wing length of  about 45mm the Pale Mottled Willow below being a more typical size has a length of just 15mm.

Pale-Mottled Willow - Paradrina clavipalpis

Common Marbled Carpet - Chloroclysta truncata

Fern - Horisme tersata

Pale-shouldered Brocade - Lacanobia thalassina

Most moths use camouflage of some form to help conceal them during daylight. The Buff Tip below is perhaps the most impressive sitting out in the open looking just like a broken twig. The picture really doesn't do it justice. You need to see it in 3D to realise just how good a copy it is.

Buff Tip - Phalera bucephala

Sycamore  - Aeronicta aceris

Grey/Dark Dagger - Acronicta psi/tridens

Shears - Hada plebeja

Dark Arches - Apamea monoglypha

Knot Grass - Acronicta rumicis

Bright-line Brown-eye - Lacanobia oleracea

Yellow-barred Brindle - Acasis viretata

Small Dusty Wave - Idaea seriata

A small Dusty Wave front wing about 10mm and a Peppered Moth below, front wing about 28mm. Three times the size.

Peppered Moth - Biston betularia

Elephant Hawkmoth - Deilephila elpenor

Garden Carpet - Xanthorhoe fluctuata

Treble Lines - Charanyca trigrammica

Buff Ermine - Spilosoma luteum

Waved Umber - Menophra abruptaria

Willow Beauty - Peribatodes rhomboidaria

A couple of smaller moths

Least Black Arches - Nola confusalis

Marbled Minor - Oligia strigilis

The marbled Minor appeared a lot darker in real life. I brightened it up a bit to show the colour and pattern and to help with the identification.

And a few moths from walkabouts in the countryside. It is surprising how many day flying moths are around when you actually start looking for them. Easy to spot but not always as easy to photograph as the night fliers.

Common Heath - Ematurga atomaria

Burnet Companion - Euclidia glyphica

Mother Shipton - Callistege mi

Orange Footman - Eilema sororcula

Yellow Shell - Camptogramma bilineata

Cinnabar - Tyria jacobaeae

Forester - Adscita statices 

And one that I have searched for on a number of occasions, a Cistus Forester, this one about half the size of the Forester above and rated as nationally scarce.

Cistus Forester - Adscita geryon 

I may have come late to mothing but the life list is certainly climbing rapidly. At the moment the garden is still delivering but at some stage I will need to explore some inland and wooded environments.