Two moths for ID, Farnborough (1 Viewer)

Farnboro John said:

I can't quite work these out but they may be easy for some others.

First is a carpet and I thought would be no trouble but I just can't quite match it up...

Second is a beauty but seems both too small and not quite right for Willow which normally predominates here. Bic biro lid for scale.

Grateful for any assistance!

Cheers

John

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Britseye said:

I'm going with Common Carpet and Brussel's Lace, John.

I had a lot of battles with Common Carpet in my first year but I learned that they have a number of broods that overlap with each other making them a continuous presence throughout the summer. Your 'beauty' is at a bit of an odd angle, but I think its paleness and that smudgy mark at the bottom of the wing (I'm sure there's a technical term for that ) is the hint for me.

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andyadcock said:

Never had Grey Birch, it looks a lot more elongated and pointy winged than the book shows, must be the angle of the shot?

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Britseye said:

I'm going with Common Carpet and Brussel's Lace, John.

I had a lot of battles with Common Carpet in my first year but I learned that they have a number of broods that overlap with each other making them a continuous presence throughout the summer. Your 'beauty' is at a bit of an odd angle, but I think its paleness and that smudgy mark at the bottom of the wing (I'm sure there's a technical term for that ) is the hint for me.

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andyadcock said:

Only in the South, single brooded in the North.

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Britseye said:

How about in the middle where you are then, Andy?

I just looked at UK moths and I see the wording is different from my first edition Lewington, which spoke of 2-3 broods overlapping. I don't have the book to hand so can't check if I remember that correctly. I find it fascinating the deeper one delves into the Natural World to find the 'rules' that are 'fixed' versus the ones that are 'flexible'. For instance I was in N-E England briefly during the heatwave two summers ago, and a friend of mine who's been following these things for years was delighted to find fresh Holly Blues in midsummer for only the second time in 20 years. In some parts of the country this still leaves time for a much smaller third brood in late Sept/Oct but again, that's largely weather dependent, of course.

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