6 July 2012

6 July 2012 – Micromoth Mysteries

The Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines) ready to take flight The Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines) at rest

**This post has undergone significant edits after a reader brought to our attention that the photographs above looked like 

The Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines). Before his email, we identified the moth as a new species, the Mottled Rustic. So, for this day, the count is down to 188 species. The subsequent posts are also slightly altered to make up for the change in number of species.

a type of grey Cnephasia

We could have three more new species, but I still await feedback to be sure. One looks like a grey Cnephasia species, but these are tricky to identify because you must dissect their genitalia to be sure. As you know, we don’t kill our moths, so if it is indeed a Cnephasia, we will not be able to narrow it down any further.

Plutella porrectella*

To the left is another micromoth from today which we hope Dr. Chesmore will be able to help us identify.

Yesterday, we had two new micromoths but we are not certain of their identities*. One is pictured below. It is most likely the Grey Tortrix (Cnephasia stephensiana). Cnephasia, from knephas, meaning ‘darkness’ refers to its dark wings. Stephensiana comes from the British entomologist J. F. Stephens.

Most likely: Grey Tortix (Cnephasia stephensiana)

*Plutella porrectella identified on 9 July 2012

**edits made on 11 July 2012

-Post by Helen Levins