Wednesday 17 May 2017

Help needed with some micros

There were 40 micros in last night's garden trap, and some are proving a bit tricky - well, for me anyway.
Could this first one be Aethes smeathmanniana? The fw measured 7mm.


This next moth is very small, the fw measuring 4mm.


I wondered if the moth below is one of the Nematopogon longhorns? It looked different from all the caddis flies in the moth trap.


Finally, a not very good photograph of a small black moth (fw 5mm).


I am probably asking the impossible with the last one, but all help much appreciated.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

3 comments:

  1. The bottom one looks like Bryotropha affinis. The 3rd is a Nematopogon sp, size would be useful, but to my eye the wing looks unmarked and intermediate in wing length so maybe schwarziellus. The 2nd looks a little worn but might be a Parornix sp, one for Peter maybe. I'll leave the 1st for someone else.

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  2. I agree with Aethes smeathmanniana. The second is a Parornix so needs dissection to confirm and I agree with Adam that the last one is a Bryotropha and affinis looks to be the most likely. The third is indeed a Nematopogon but I can't really see enough in that picture to confirm which of the three species it is and, as Adam says, wing size (and sex and antenna length, as per the micro field guide) would help nail it down.

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  3. Many thanks Adam and Dave - your comments are always helpful. I thought the second one was probably a Parornix - I'll save it for Peter.

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