A scarce micro

The first peer into the garden MV this morning was rewarded with a single Bordered Straw sitting on top of an egg box - my first Banstead record since the 1996 invasion - but things got better...


This is Phtheochroa sodaliana, a scarce and very local resident of chalk downland. In the 'Smaller Moths of Surrey' (published in 2012) there are only four recent records, the latest being in 2005. A brief search on other county websites suggest that this species really is hard to come across. Luckily for me it is a distinctive moth, as my micro identification abilities are not the best.

Comments

Skev said…
Nice - I've only seen that at one of our excellent limestone grassland sites in VC55.
16 June 2017 at 21:35
Steve Gale said…
A new one for me Mark.
16 June 2017 at 21:55
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