I found this Moth on a Rowan tree some time ago but have been unable to Identify It. Any Ideas?
The photo was taken in mid June 2010. size is about 4cm this a guess from 2 years on. Here are a couple of other photos , they were taken with flash and I think some of the colours are refraction from the scale structure. John
I'm struggling, too.
Tempted to suggest Luperina testacea, but even allowing for the considerable variation (good range here - http://www.lepiforum.de/cgi-bin/lepiwiki.pl?Luperina_Testacea) this moth in question seems too plainly coloured.
Some other possibilities:
- Aporophyla lutulenta (deep brown dart) - but the flight period is wrong (Aug-Oct)
- Euxoa tritici (white-line dart) - right flight period, but the markings are not quite right (but they are variable)
- Euxoa nigricans (garden dart) - flight period just about OK - worth finding more photos to compare
- Polia bombycina (pale shining brown) - flight period OK- ditto
But in none of those are the patterns quite right.
When making comparisons, you need to look at many specimens from each species, because many species are quite variable.
John: You probably know where you found the moth; that might help limit the possibilities. You could ask your local wildlife trust, but first see if there is a local moths group online. For isntance, here's a distribution map for garden dart in Northamptonshire - http://www.northamptonshirewildlife.co.uk/nmoths/2082.htm.
Nat.Hist.Museum forum staff: I'm just giving pointers here, not answers; by all means reject my suggestions if you find the answer.
Stuart,
That's a brilliant call on a decidely tricky subject!
John,
You can see some of the variation here
- http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Oligia_Strigilis
Mike