The grassland areas of Low Burnhall Woodland Trust reserve have some very fine patches of germander speedwell in bloom at the moment, and they seem to be very popular with micro-moths.
As far as I can tell this tiny insect is the cock'sfoot moth Glyphipteryx simpliciella, which breeds on cock'sfoot grass but clearly finds these speedwell flowers very attractive.
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Thanks for the ID Phil. I had a van full of them a few days ago. I'll see if there are any left to macro.
ReplyDeleteHi Adrian, I find IDing these tiny moths a real challenge
DeleteNoticing small insects at the moment, some of the micro moths are so small and easly overlooked, but if you look close they have some amazing markings, we have some Speedwell at the park, will have to take a look.
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda, I didn't take much notice of micro-moths until the new field guide came out, then I realised how beautiful they are!
DeleteGreat post and photos showing that small is truly beautiful! I often wonder which insects polinize tiny flowers that can't support the weight of honeybees or similarly sized bees
ReplyDeleteHi Africa, I didn't know what I'd photographed until I looked at the images (my eyesight isn't what it once was!). Some of these micro-moths are exquisite, aren't they? Not easy to ID some of them though, even with the excellent field guide. The geometry of speedwell flowers, with two widely spaced stamens and a central style, must make pollination a bit hit-and-miss - I suspect some of the smaller hoverflies that eat some of the pollen must be the most efficient speedwell pollinators.
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