Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Northern winter moth


























Moth identification is not my forte but since there aren't many around to choose from at this time of the year I've whittled down the possibilities and am going to hazard a guess that this might be a northern winter moth Operophtera fagata (but I'd welcome any more accurate suggestions). It was resting on fallen beech leaves in Hamsterley Forest this morning and since beech is listed as a food plant, and since in Waring and Townsend's Field Guide to Moths of Great Britain and Ireland it's described as 'similar to a winter moth, but paler and somewhat silky in appearance..' it seems plausible. Correct ID or not, I really liked the combination of shapes, textures and autumnal colours....

6 comments:

  1. It is a grand composition. I'll go with your ID for want of a better guess.

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  2. That is a good composition. I can never remember the names of more than four moths and they all have a colour in the name.

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  3. Sorry, Phil, I'm rubbish with moth ID, but it's definitely a Beech leaf :o)

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  4. Lovely colour of the beech leaves, Adrian....

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  5. Hi Toffeeapple, there are an awful lot of nondescript brownish ones, aren't there...?

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  6. Well no one has contradicted my ID yet Graeme, so I'm feeling recklessly confident ... almost an expert...

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