It's a micro moth. Micro moth ? Yes. There are over a thousand species of micro moths. Micro being the giveaway - they are tiny. The other moths that I posted recently are collectively known as macro moths, being larger. Micro moths are usually millimetres in length.
This one we believe to be a Leek Moth and was flying around this afternoon, landing on our window. As the name suggests its food plant is leek, onion and chive and is a known pest.
The majority of micro moths have Latin names but luckily a lot have English names too. You soon get to know them if they occur regularly in your moth traps.
There are several reference books to identifying micro moths. The best one by far is similar to the moth book I linked to recently ; http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0956490212/ref=s9_simh_gw_g14_i5_r?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=1NRSQ29SB533FV0Z87E2&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=867551807&pf_rd_i=desktop
Similar to macro moths, a lot are brown in colouring and others are very colourful with varying markings. Some species even migrate from the continent in the right weather conditions and time of year.
As the season progresses you will get to see a wide variety of macro and micro moths that we trap.
Please note and remember that we trap for recording purposes only. We send our records to local county recorders and usually participate in the National Moth Night scheme every year. All records are compiled to ascertain the state of Britain's moths and therefore eventually find ways to help protect and recover species at risk of extinction.
For more information please look at :-
http://www.mothnight.info/www/
http://www.mothscount.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment