Although I have been to Pilmoor Wood quite a few times already this year, the nearby Low Wood is equally as interesting but this is the first visit there this year. There has been a bit of clearance since the last visit, but many mature trees of oak, ash, beech and especially birch remained. Plenty of bracken in its first flushes, and a walk with the net through the wood produced a few interesting insects. Strangely, even at 17 degrees, although a little breezy, not one butterfly was seen at all. In addition to a couple of the colourful long-horn moths Nemophora degeerella, there was this attractive beetle, and a micro-moth later identified as Epinotia demarniana, probably only the third VC62 record, all of them mine, and all in the same vicinity, and confirmed by Charlie from the photos.
| Leptura maculata |
| Epinotia demarniana |
Having sussed out a handful of good trapping sites, I noticed a moth on the windscreen, which I photographed, and eventually had it identified as Cydia fagiglandana by Charlie, ironically I could not match it to the pic on UK Moths, which just happened to be his photo! A look at others sites, confirmed this identification was correct. Another new one for me, so thanks again Charlie!
| Cydia fagiglandana |
Spending so much time scouring the vegetation looking for micros, and being fooled on numerous occasions, I feel I should invest in the companion volume by Whifton and Cleeler, on the Moth-like Bird-droppings of the British Isles.....
Whifton and Cleeler???
ReplyDeleteAh, now I get it!
ReplyDelete