Micro highlights of 2012

Whilst 2012 didn't set the world on fire with regards to mothing, I still had plenty of highlights, some of which are illustrated in the collage below:



All the above from Kent, except the P. oleae, however I did find mines of this species at a garden centre in Canterbury this year, so technically...

Large images, clockwise from top left:
Prays oleae - reared from larvae mining leaves of olive at Wentworth Garden centre, Sth. Yorks,
Ethmia terminella - back garden, East Kent,
Sciota adelphella - back garden, East Kent,
Esperia oliviella - Covert Wood, Kent

Medium images, top: Nemapogon ruricolella - ancient hedgerow, East Kent;
bottom: Elachista subocellea - old orchard windbreak, East Kent

Small images, clockwise from top left: Micropterix tunbergella, Grapholita internana - back garden, East Kent
Metzneria aestivella - reared from larvae, Fowlmead CP, Deal, Kent,
Eucosma aspidiscana - daytime observation, Denge Woods, East Kent

Dave

Spots before my eyes

Another great night in the garden with over 70 species in and around the trap this morning.  Plenty of new ones for the year but the highlight came in monochrome: Ethmia terminella, a lifer and in the garden, well chuffed to say the least.



With the amount of moths at the trap this morning this was first rapidly potted up without so much as a second glance, no doubt later to be recorded as Yponomeuta sp.

However, on removal from the fridge and then examining the images more closely something didn't quite add up: black dots along the termen, small number of large dots on the wings, dots on the thorax, grey wash to the dorsum and costa, surely this had to be E. terminella.


Dave