I am enjoying my on-going mini project, of trying to photograph the animals I can see through my office window. Photographing moths is particularly challenging. The upper moth is one of the carpet moths (a Devon carpet I think) but I have not been able to identify the lower one. Anyone out there know?
I think I can identify these two moths, but am a rusty lepidopterist and welcome other opinions.
ReplyDeleteThe upper insect is indeed a carpet moth. I would suggest a Silver-ground Carpet (Xanthorhoe montanata). Features include the whitish ground colour (more extensive than most of its relatives) and the broken or waisted area of the dark vertical bar across the wing (the 'median fascia'). The Silver-ground Carpet is common in May and June along hedgerows, lanes, woodland rides etc.
The lower moth is more difficult, but I think is a Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria) based on what I can see of the forewing pattern and the general shape (what a birder might call the 'jizz'). This common moth occurs in two or three broods between June and September; this photo will be of a first-brood example.
In the larval stage, both species are polyphagous (i.e. feed on many different species of plant). They are members of the large family Geometridae, which translates as 'earth measurers' - a reference to the distinctive motion of the caterpillars, known colloquially as 'loopers' (or, in North America, 'inchworms').