New Carmarthenshire moth enthusiast, Jane Hand, who lives at Rhandirmwyn and not far from Dafydd Davies` old Rothamsted trap site, caught a cloaked carpet in her garden trap last night (11/8) and she kindly sent me this photograph to put on our moth blog.
Above: Cloaked carpet - a really first-class record - well done Jane!
Jane also sent the photo below. A very quick check (I`ve got to rush out!) suggests that it may be possibly Agonopterix purpurea, which if so, will be another good record, with only three sightings given in Sam`s 2013 status summary. Please correct if wrong, as there is some uncertainty about this provisional i/d (eg is it just heracliana?)
.....and (see below), yet another rarity caught by Jane last night - dotted carpet and further verifying another of the late Dafydd Davies Rothamsted records from his nearby home. Otherwise only known from the Brechfa area in Carmarthenshire.
Very exciting for me as a newbie to Moth trapping. I have had 124 different moths so far and a few to be identified
ReplyDeleteWell done Jane: you're off to a flyer!
ReplyDeleteWell done Jane: you're off to a flyer!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to get updated records from Rhandirmwyn, following on from Dafydd Davies' great dataset. Cloaked Carpet has 41 Carmarthenshire records, but these only come from 9 sites and there are no records from the well-recorded Brechfa area (although it has been found once at Rhydcymerau).
ReplyDeleteDotted Carpet has only 20 records, but with a similar spread. Marigold Oakley's record from the Botanic Gardens stands out from the north Carms remainder.
I need to have a proper look at that Agonopterix, but it's a good one whichever it is.
Thanks Sam...there`s been some discussion between Chris and I regarding the Agonopterix as I`m even less sure now which one it is.
ReplyDeleteYes, I did point to the UKMoths site where there's an image of a pink-tinged A.heracliana which on the face of it looks very similar to the moth in Jane's photo.
ReplyDeleteI`ve literally just now (Sunday evening) had further info from Jane, saying that the moth was just under 10mm, thus making purpurea (which is c 5mm) unlikely. Chris`s suggestion of a pinky-purple heracliana now seems much more likely.
ReplyDelete