Monday, March 10, 2014

Snowdrop Micromoth


I found this tiny micromoth yesterday when it was siphoning nectar from snowdrop flowers. Thanks to Stewart at From the Notebook for identifying this moth for me as Ysolopha ustella.

It seemed to be very proficient at slipping its long proboscis in between the petals to reach the nectar, so it might be a snowdrop specialist.






































 In the second picture you can see that it has a scattering of golden scales when the sunlight strikes its wings.


2 comments:

  1. Hi your moth is Ysolopha ustella. Cheers Stewart. From the Notebook blog on someone else's iPad!

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    1. Thanks Stewart! I really appreciate your help. I'm still on the nursery slopes as far as micromoths are concerned - I've got the book but still struggle. I didn't catch and bring the specimen home, which didn't help. Cheers, Phil

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