Moths and other critters in my Cypriot garden (3 Viewers)

[Andy Adcock]

Finally settled in to the house and got my trap set up, there wasn't that much activity but hey, it is winter. The night grew increasingly chilly and a very cool breeze got up which ended all activity by about 2100hrs.

A couple of things here are familiar, one looks like a Blair's Shoulder-knot whilst a couple of others are Chestnuts but I'm working on the ID of the other and any input id very welcome.

The third and fourth shots are the same moth and I'll close out with a couple of images of my new setting.

 

[aeshna5]

I don't see an obvious Blair's Shoulder-knot here? A couple like the first look like Beaded Chestnut. The last one before the pool might be a Rush Veneer?

 

[Andy Adcock]

I don't see an obvious Blair's Shoulder-knot here? A couple like the first look like Beaded Chestnut. The last one before the pool might be a Rush Veneer?

I ommited the Blair's, thought the same about the Veneer.

 

[Andy Adcock]

I think 2 may be Polymixis trisignata

 

[Atropos]

Excellent, great to see this thread Andy.
3120 is Nomophila noctuella I would think

 

[Andy Adcock]

Excellent, great to see this thread Andy.
3120 is Nomophila noctuella I would think

Thanks Atropos,
been itching to start!

Eleonora's Falcon, Long-legged Buzzard, Black Francolin and Black Redstart on the garden list already!

A couple of butterfly ticks for me too, just common stuff here in Eastern Bath White, African Grass Blue and Plain Tiger with Hummingbird Hawkmoth seen commonly.

 

[Andy Adcock]

I think 2 may be Polymixis trisignata

Struggling with the others, wading through this, page by page is very laborious European Lepidoptera and their ecology - Image gallery

 

[Andy Adcock]

Too windy for mothing here right now but I had an old shower curtain which I'd used to cover my trap and when I moved it today, this critter leaped out.
It's about the size of the largest UK 'House Spider' and I belive it to be a Tube Web Spider Segestria florentina of which my book (60 Cypriot Spiders, Duncan McCowan) notes 'quite aggressive, will sometimes rear up rather than run away and is capable of biting a person'.

The other one I belive to be a Slender Sac Spider Loxosceles rufescens and again, the book notes that this innocuous looking little spider can bite and the effects include swelling and nausea.

 

[Andy Adcock]

The nights are chilly here right now with quite a breeze on our hillside location which make mothing, a little less productive than I hoped. These are the most identifiable individuals from last night but based on the fact that I can'r even figure out the mosr striking individual from the first night, my hopes are not high.

No competition with Atropos but I did add Sardinian Warbler to the garden list today.

 

[aeshna5]

Third may well be Antigastra catalaunalis.

 

[Atropos]

Third may well be Antigastra catalaunalis.

Certainly is, a common enough moth on my sheet at times

 

[Andy Adcock]

Getting down to 10c at night and ittle activity, just a couple of Carpets.

 

[Andy Adcock]

The latest batch of frustration!

1 Is clearly a Chestnut sp
2-3 Appear to be the same species in differing stages of wear and is the same as species as previously defied ID.
4 Green- brindled Crescent?
5 No idea Maybe an 'Archescents'?
6 No idea

 

[Paul Chapman]

Andy

Really enjoying this. What are you using as a baseline? A decent Wikipedia page with additional links.

List of Lepidoptera of Cyprus - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

All the best

Paul

 

[Andy Adcock]

Andy

Really enjoying this. What are you using as a baseline? A decent Wikipedia page with additional links.

List of Lepidoptera of Cyprus - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

All the best

Paul

Hi Paul,
yes, this though not all are illustrated plus using Waring at the mo where species look comparable, really struggling for time with the toddler in toe, nearly got us bot run oover looking at a couple of Stonechats the other day!

Also this but also really hard going European Lepidoptera and their ecology - Image gallery

Really does make you realise how spolied we are in the UK!

 

[renopaul]

I've used Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa and Lepiforum e.V. to good effect on holidays in France, Italy and Spain, they both have good thumbnail galleries (though you have to search around a bit to find them). Might be of less use as far afield as Cyprus though!

Cheers
Paul

 

[Atropos]

Hi Paul,
yes, this though not all are illustrated plus using Waring at the mo where species look comparable, really struggling for time with the toddler in toe, nearly got us bot run oover looking at a couple of Stonechats the other day!

Also this but also really hard going European Lepidoptera and their ecology - Image gallery

Really does make you realise how spolied we are in the UK!

Totally agree, moving to Aus from the UK was an eye opener, there are so few resources and nothing is comprehensive. Lepiforum is great, I use it at times as it does have an Australian section. If you can narrow something down to a genus (at a push family but they are really tricky to search) then a resource like BOLD can be helpful as it pulls up all the members of that genus globally (if they have been sent away for DNA analysis that is) but for larger genera like Idaea really confusing although BOLDv4 does allow a country search but that only pulls up specimens that have been sampled from that country so a widespread species that might occur there does not necessarily appear if none have been sampled from there. There is a good Moths of Africa webpage it may be more southern but might be of some use - off the top of my head cant remember address and am on phone so cant check my bookmarks

 

[Andy Adcock]

Anyone put a name to this whacky dude?

No idea on the Pug but might call the other a Black Rustic?

 

[Andy Adcock]

And another little jumper for the list, in the forlorn hope, that someone can ID it.

 

[Andy Adcock]

My daughter was delighted to find this magnificent, Cyprus Green Toad Bufotes cipriensis in our pool this morning along with several, presumed Scaraebidae.