It was noticeably grey under the light, and I noticed the 'round' shoulders, so my first thought was 'an early specimen of Epirrita sp.' As soon as I got a look at the flash shot, however, I saw it was actually green, so my thoughts transferred to 'worn July high-flyer'. But it's far too late for that (and the pattern's wrong, anyway). So I began to trawl the references and came up with a green specimen of Yellow-barred Brindle, which would also be a bit late. So I sent the picture off for analysis. The recipient came up with two options :Red-green Carpet or Autumn-green Carpet, but neither seemed to fit properly, so it was sent to another person who has experience of these species in Ulster. The consensus comes down to Autumn-green Carpet - Chloroclysta miata - a local species which is usually found near old woodland and bog, and is new to me.
Tuesday 6 October 2009
Anatomy of an identification
This moth came to light on Sunday night:
It was noticeably grey under the light, and I noticed the 'round' shoulders, so my first thought was 'an early specimen of Epirrita sp.' As soon as I got a look at the flash shot, however, I saw it was actually green, so my thoughts transferred to 'worn July high-flyer'. But it's far too late for that (and the pattern's wrong, anyway). So I began to trawl the references and came up with a green specimen of Yellow-barred Brindle, which would also be a bit late. So I sent the picture off for analysis. The recipient came up with two options :Red-green Carpet or Autumn-green Carpet, but neither seemed to fit properly, so it was sent to another person who has experience of these species in Ulster. The consensus comes down to Autumn-green Carpet - Chloroclysta miata - a local species which is usually found near old woodland and bog, and is new to me.
It was noticeably grey under the light, and I noticed the 'round' shoulders, so my first thought was 'an early specimen of Epirrita sp.' As soon as I got a look at the flash shot, however, I saw it was actually green, so my thoughts transferred to 'worn July high-flyer'. But it's far too late for that (and the pattern's wrong, anyway). So I began to trawl the references and came up with a green specimen of Yellow-barred Brindle, which would also be a bit late. So I sent the picture off for analysis. The recipient came up with two options :Red-green Carpet or Autumn-green Carpet, but neither seemed to fit properly, so it was sent to another person who has experience of these species in Ulster. The consensus comes down to Autumn-green Carpet - Chloroclysta miata - a local species which is usually found near old woodland and bog, and is new to me.
Lovely find, Stuart. Compared to the book, it looks indeed very worn.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder it took a few people to ID this little pug.
It's beautiful, and if it were in its natural habitat I bet you'd never see it - that pattern would make fantastic camouflage.
ReplyDelete