Sunday 30 March 2014

Another Clouded Drab?

Largest catch so far this year for my 40w Actinic Heath trap, I definitely had something new this morning, looked vaguely like a carpet but it was off before I could get a proper look. 21 Common Quaker, 2 Small Quaker, 4 Early Greys, 10 Hebrew Characters, 6 or 7 Clouded Drabs.

There was one I thought was different but having looked at it again I think it's another Clouded Drab but I'd appreciate a confirmation.

Still wondering about the one that got away!



Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

2 comments:

  1. Another Clouded Drab, I'm afraid. Have a look at the post on 23rd February ("A welcome return") for a picture showing the most obvious thing about Lead-coloured Drab. Most of the moths you catch will be males so, if you think you might have a Lead-coloured, prod it into life and look at the antennae. If they're obviously feathered to the naked eye then it will be Lead-coloured. The antennae on male Clouded Drabs are only slightly pectinate and this isn't really visible without using a hand lens.

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  2. Hi,

    Further to the antennae, I actually find that Lead-coloured Drab more closely resembles a Common Quaker in wing shape and size - Clouded Drab has almost pointed wing-tips rather than the rounded wing-tips of Lead-coloured Drab, so should be possible even if you get a female. I'd also strongly agree with Dave's earlier comment about LCD not being found far from food plant. I haven't seen a single one this year which is odd, since the Rothamsted trap at CEH in Wallingford usually gets a few from the poplars it is next to. If you've got poplars of aspen nearby you're in with a good shout - my old garden in Oxford had some poplars a few doors down that I hadn't noticed when I first moved in. I caught a LCD and was very surprised until I investigated.

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