Tuesday 10 October 2017

An extraordinary coincidence

Dave Brooks, who records moths in Caerleon, recently sent me photos of two interesting Micros he caught this week.  One was an extraordinary coincidence: Dave caught an unfamiliar Pyralid on 8th October 2017 which a friend IDed as the very rare Etiella zinckenella.  The coincidence is that the only previous Welsh/Gwent record was from almost exactly 4 years to the day before Dave's record: Nick Felstead caught one in Chepstow on 7th October 2013.


Dave's other Pyralid, caught the night before (7th October 2017) was the strikingly-marked Box-tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis.  This Asian moth was first seen in Britain in 2007 and has increased rapidly in SE England, becoming a pest of Box in some areas.  Its arrival in Gwent has been anticipated for a couple of years, but it is still a notable new species for the county.  There has been a previous record from Glamorgan, but Dave's is probably the second for Wales.


Well done and thankyou Dave!
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1 comment:

  1. Nick Felstead11 October 2017 at 02:55

    Some great moths there and well done on capturing these two.
    Would like to have seen the Box-tree moth.
    Funnily enough I did put my trap out a few days ago at home and the thought of Etiella zinckenella did cross my mind given it was early October. I was hoping for rarities like these moths to appear in and around the trap but no luck this time.

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