Hi all,heres a side view of that micro,forgot to mention i found this cat feeding on heather ,i just assumed svensons copper underwing,but looking at it closely im not so sure,its 18 mm long and feeding well on heather.Cheers Bri,ps theres too much going on !!
10 comments:
Prolita sexpunctella is a possibility Brian. The upturned palps make this a gelichid of some sort.
It looks like Svensons Copper Underwing to me Brian, why do you think its not ? Its a little late in the larval stage but given the altitude and cool spring thats not surprising.
colour of the tip of horn,but after looking on cat id it looks good for s c u,with it being still quite small ,seems to redden on later instars,yes,and prob inclement weathers had something to do with it being behind.
Hi Brian
I think the cat is Svenssons myself as Copper usually shows the tip as white or yellowish. Yours seems to show the redish tip starting up.
In Copper Underwing the whitish spiracular line is often mostly absent on the third and fourth rings
see:
http://www.yorkshiremoths.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/2009
for one that I am rearing at present.
(add .htm after the web address)
Cheers for that Derek,it just threw me ,the s c underwings ive seen,in the past always showed much red on spike,this was only 18mm,and the red just starting to show,1st ive seen feeding on heather,theres always to learn.ive never seen copper underwing larva,did you find your larva or get eggs from female ? ps hope you rear it ok.
I've never managed to identify an adult Copper Underwing so was pleased to find the caterpillar in my front garden on Elm. (it's only a small tree!)
Interesting stuff there Derek,theres quite a few mainly wych elms near me,il try and keep an eye on,i will see how this s c underwing develops,as it is feeding up well on heather.all the best Bri.
Thanks for all the comments on this micro,ive sent it to Harry Beaumont,it seems they are a quite tricky group to gen det.all the best Bri.
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