Paul Chapman
Well-known member
Thanks Paul.
Do I understand that 835 is Flame Shoulder and 836 is Radford's Flame Shoulder? And we are talking about a paler (and with white hairs) on the dorsal surface of the abdomen (ie only visible by lifting the wings away) as opposed to the ventral surface (ie what you would see from looking underneath in a clear pot? Is there a difference between the two species at a glance looking at the underside of a moth in a clear pot?
Apologies for the questioning - I have seen wordy descriptions (some conflicting) in various resources for this elsewhere!
(Back in the summer when I was getting 10+ Flame Shoulders I should have analysed them better (including some long-winged individuals) to see variation in Flame Shoulder!!)
Cheers.
Spot on. Only look in detail at moths with a long black streak which goes past the lower oval. Rare in Flame Shoulder. It took me two days to see the hairs on my friend's moth to confirm it. When he first brought it round, it was flapping away. If I had only known to look then, it wouldn't have taken so long to confirm it.... Radford's records have been autumn things to date though it is double-brooded on the continent.
All the best