29 September 2017

28 September 2017 – Stone Pinion

Blair’s Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri)

Last night was quite active in the moth world. The temperature was relatively mild and the cloud-cover was quite thick and this stimulated activity.  The species identified this morning were : Angle Shades, Green Carpet, Red-green Carpet, Red-line Quaker, Lunar Underwing, Dark Sword-grass, Common Wainscot, Snout, Silver Y, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Merveille du Jour, Flame Shoulder, Beaded Chestnut, Rosy Rustic and the two shown above and below – Blair’s Shoulder Knot and Frosted Orange.   

Frosted Orange (Gortyna flavago)

Blair’s Shoulder Knot has firmly established itself in this country after appearing on the Isle of Wight in 1951.  With the planting of Cypress trees in the 60’s and 70’s the moth spread north and is now one of the commonest moths to be seen in Autumn.  It has another identity as Stone Pinion – so the photograph is in keeping.

The Frosted Orange (Gortyna flavago) is included purely because it is very pretty.

Click the link and it will take you to a full description from 13 October 2013 – the last time I saw this species.