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| Cryptoblabes bistriga |
We await confirmation on a few species, but we do
have one new moth today! It was a cloudy, but still warm welcome for species number 195. The
Cryptoblabes
bistriga, our latest micromoth, stayed around just long enough for me to photograph
him. Its name,
crypto (hidden)
blabe (damage), refers to the larvae
that feed on the insides of folded oak and alder leaves, leaving the damage
unnoticed from the outside. This is a very uncommon species, and had I known
that this morning I would have kept a specimen for Dr. Chesmore to have a look
at. I guess this is just a challenge for me to catch another
Cryptoblabes bistriga before heading
home.
*Editor's Note: Since publishing, the following moths have been identified. These results give us an additional 3 new species (Common Wave, Aethes cnicana, and Eucosma cana). Refer to the captions of their photographs for their respective names.
This next species, I’m not sure about. I think it could be
the Aethes cnicana but let me know if
you think otherwise. Aethes means
unusual or strange and referred to a number of moths that were found
to be yellowish in color. Cnicana,
for Cnicus, is a synonym of Cirsium, the genus of its larvae’s foodplant.
This makes me a bit more affirmative in my guess, because our gardens have plenty
of thistles, a variety of Cirsium.
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| Confirmed: Aethes cnicana |
The last moth I will try to identify is the Riband Wave (Idaea aversata). Idea for Mt. Ida is the grandstand where the gods and goddesses
congregated to watch the Trojan War. Aversata
is for aversus (belonging to the
hinder or under part), because its markings are more visible from the
underside than from above.
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| Confirmed: Riband Wave (Idaea aversata) |
I’ve included photographs below of some moths that I
can not identify. I hope to have the answers tomorrow. In
the meantime, do you have ideas?
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| Confirmed: Common Wave |
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Confirmed: Eucosma cana
-Post by Helen Levins
|
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| Confirmed: also Eucosma Cana |
