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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Other seasonal mothing fun. (1 Viewer)

mothman

mothman

Well-known member
Now that the Blackthorn is in flower,why not try beating for Sloe Pug(Pasiphilla chloerata) larvae,These tiny maggoty caterpillars beat readily from the upper branches of blackthorn and can be raised in cages to pupae, in aprox four weeks(provide loose litter for them to use,the pupae will be on or near the surface) ,The reason for their rapid development is their food(Blackthorn flowers)which are only about for a few weeks.The moths emerge in may,just three or four weeks after pupation making this species a doddle to rear.

Also(with the risk of teaching collective grandmothers to suck collective eggs)don't forget Sallowing,which is the practice of stalking sallow bushes and trees(now in flower)with a high powered lamp and a butterfly net(the latter is optional).Some nights Sallow blossom looks more popular with moths at this time of year, than Buddleia does with butterflies in the high summer.

Colin.
 
Thanks for tips,
My sallowing is all but over for another year as its finished flowering with me.
Sloe Pug is as far as I know unrecorded in Ireland, but as it was in Britain, maybe its being overlooked. Some of my blackthorn has finishing flowering, but some is only getting going, so I may not have missed the boat with this one.
 
If you have Blackthorn nearby you could also have a look at it after dark with a torch & net for Sloe Carpet, much easier to locate this way as they not very responsive to mv.

Stuart.
 
Stuart Read said:
If you have Blackthorn nearby you could also have a look at it after dark with a torch & net for Sloe Carpet, much easier to locate this way as they not very responsive to mv.

Stuart.
Click to expand...
Another one not on Irish list...
 
Stuart Read said:
...Sloe Carpet, much easier to locate this way as they not very responsive to mv.
Click to expand...

Unless you are Ken, who has swarms of them to his trap ;)

Its not very common in England either, where it sems rather patchily distributed in the south and southeast. Perhaps under-recorded?
 
brianhstone said:
Unless you are Ken, who has swarms of them to his trap ;)

Its not very common in England either, where it sems rather patchily distributed in the south and southeast. Perhaps under-recorded?
Click to expand...
According to the 'bible' of Surrey moths, sloe carpet occurs where there are isolated bushes of sloe, rather than thickets. We have a horse paddock about 200m away which fits this description so this could be the source of my 'swarms'.
I hope Tony Davis doesn't mind me quoting him, but I had the following from him: "Very excited to hear about your Sloe Carpets. They aren't 'just' notable, they are thought to have suffered a significant decline in recent years and we have just put them forward for possible inclusion as a UK BAP Priority Species in the forthcoming review of the BAP." I hope the IDs are safe!!
Collins also says that sloe pug is occasionally recorded at light but is usually overlooked being very dissimalar to reared specimens. He also says that the larvae prefer mature thickets of sloe. It's interesting that the size of the thicket should affect the species distribution. Perhaps it's something to do with the humidity/temperature of thickets vs isolated clumps?
Ken
 
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Surreybirder said:
According to the 'bible' of Surrey moths, sloe carpet occurs where there are isolated bushes of sloe, rather than thickets. We have a horse paddock about 200m away which fits this description so this could be the source of my 'swarms'.
I hope Tony Davis doesn't mind me quoting him, but I had the following from him: "Very excited to hear about your Sloe Carpets. They aren't 'just' notable, they are thought to have suffered a significant decline in recent years and we have just put them forward for possible inclusion as a UK BAP Priority Species in the forthcoming review of the BAP." I hope the IDs are safe!!
Collins also says that sloe pug is occasionally recorded at light but is usually overlooked being very dissimalar to reared specimens. He also says that the larvae prefer mature thickets of sloe. It's interesting that the size of the thicket should affect the species distribution. Perhaps it's something to do with the humidity/temperature of thickets vs isolated clumps?
Ken
Click to expand...
We have alot of hedgerows here, planted on the top of banks (Where one field sits higher than another) and these I find most productive for S pug,from the ditch side, these bushes appear taller than they are, probably fooling the moths that approach from this side, into thinking that they are laying much higher up the plant than they actually are, which means that if you approach from the other side, you have easy access to the crown of the hedge.

Colin.
 
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