Some recent new moth appearances (1 Viewer)

Brian Stone · Apr 28, 2004

A selection of moths appearing over the past few days in my garden light trap in Elton (Hunts, UK) starting with:
Lunar Marbled Brown
Waved Umber
Scalloped Hooktip
The Herald
Muslin Moth

Brian Stone · Apr 28, 2004

And carrying on with:
Shoulder-stripe
The Streamer
Red Twin-spot Carpet
Esperia sulphurella (micro)
and a Bee-fly (first for my garden)

Some of the geometers have been rather uncooperative for photography but some others were OK.

CJW · Apr 28, 2004

These photos are fabulous, Brian (love the Bee-fly, have you got Wild Thyme nearby?).
Two moth ticks for me there as well!

Brian Stone · Apr 28, 2004

Been seeing Bee-flies at various locations locally but none near home. We grow cultivated thyme but I have seen adults Bee-flies feeding on all sorts of nectar sources. Its larvae parasitise the nests of solitary bees. What is the connection with Wild Thyme?

None of these moths are remarkable locally but there aren't that many records of Scalloped Hook-tip and the micro will just be under-recorded.

Might promote the Herald to the gallery at some point. One of my favourites.

SleepyLizard · Apr 28, 2004

CJW said:
Two moth ticks for me there as well!

LOL - 9 out the 10 would have been new for me

Thanks for sharing the pics brian!

Alan

Brian Stone · Apr 28, 2004

CJW said:
These photos are fabulous, Brian (love the Bee-fly, have you got Wild Thyme nearby?).
Two moth ticks for me there as well!

Guess: The Streamer and the Hook-tip?

CJW · Apr 28, 2004

brianhstone said:
Guess: The Streamer and the Hook-tip?

Waved Umber and the hooktip.
The connection with Bee-fly/Wild Thyme just stems from the fact that that's all we get them on over here!

Jane Turner · Apr 28, 2004

Nope can't pick on any of those for having unimaginative names! I get quite a range of Bee mimicing Dipterans here.... and I have a carpet of Thyme.

CJW · Apr 28, 2004

Jane Turner said:
and I have a carpet of Thyme.

I thought it was Red-green?

Jane Turner · Apr 28, 2004

Its green-mauve in summer

harry eales · Apr 28, 2004

Great pictures Brian,
Could you let us know what camera/lenses you are using. I can't get anything as good as that with my Kodal digital.
Harry Eales.

Brian Stone · Apr 28, 2004

All taken with a Nikon Coolpix 995 in manual mode, set to high saturation and macro mode. I mount on a mini-tripod with the subject as close to the lens as I can get and use a remote shutter release. I never use flash. Some of the ones taken this morning had a 2 second exposure as it was so dull. the moths have usually been in the fridge for a while so are mostly quite calm. I bracket the exposures, normally only by plus/minus 2/3 of a stop and then select the best on the computer later.

In camera sharpening is set to normal but I then almost always sharpen a certain amount in Paint Shop Pro _before_ cropping and resizing. The final sized image may then be sharpened, but only a little. Some may look a little oversharpened I think.

CJW · Apr 28, 2004

One thing I noticed with your Streamer, Brian is how brown it is. Is this a normal colour for your region? All ours are very grey with a hint of some purple along the termen.

harry eales · Apr 28, 2004

Cheers Brian,
I was brought up with a Box Brownie, so most camera technicalities (and prices) are way over my head. My current camera a Kodak DX9330 is fine for habitat pictures but leaves a lot to be desired when trying to photo insects close up.

Harry Eales.

Brian Stone · Apr 28, 2004

CJW said:
One thing I noticed with your Streamer, Brian is how brown it is. Is this a normal colour for your region? All ours are very grey with a hint of some purple along the termen.

I have nothing to compare it with as it was my first. The colouring was odd compared with the illustration I looked at when checking the ID. I think the purple tinge is still there 'though. This was one of the several moths this morning that were very lively and proved difficult to photograph, which is why the background is less than ideal and the colours not so clear on the moth.

To see what Chris is on about look here:
http://cgi.ukmoths.force9.co.uk/show.php?id=361

Brian Stone · Apr 28, 2004

harry eales said:
Cheers Brian,
I was brought up with a Box Brownie, so most camera technicalities (and prices) are way over my head. My current camera a Kodak DX9330 is fine for habitat pictures but leaves a lot to be desired when trying to photo insects close up.

One of the best things about the 995 is the macro performance, and I think others in the Coolpix family are also good. Picked mine up secondhand but there don't seem to be many about at the moment.

Brian Stone · Apr 28, 2004

A few more that haven't made it onto the gallery:
Red-green Carpet
Blossom Underwing
Early Grey
Early Thorn
Red Chestnut

Andrew S · Apr 28, 2004

Excellent pics Brian - thanks for posting.

Of these I have only seen Red-green Carpet and Early Grey.

Have had a few Brimstone Moths recently, which brightened up the collection.

Fuchsia · Apr 28, 2004

Excellent

All new to me 'cept the Herald and fantastic Bee-fly which remind me of little Disney cartoon flies. Well done for getting one on camera at all! They love the Lavender here.

Jen

Angus T · Apr 28, 2004

The Muslin intrigues me as I've only seen it white. The Streamer I get are as Chris descibed. Never seen the hind wings.
Of the pics posted I haven't seen Waved Umber, Scalloped Hooktip and Blossom Underwing. The Waved Umber is a doubtful resident in Ireland and Blossom Underwing is rare with very few Irish records.

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