Showing posts with label Rhopobota ustomaculana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rhopobota ustomaculana. Show all posts

Friday, 21 May 2010

Stonechats and Strawberries






After this Rhopobota ustomaculana emerged yesterday, I decided to revisit Barden Moor and try to photograph the Cowberry in flower.





I made the ascent to Lower Barden Reservoir, this morning, in warm sunshine and was surprised by the numbers of Wild Strawberry flowers growing alongside the path. These seemed to be providing the main nectar source for the abundant Green-veined White butterflies, one of which I saw being grabbed by a spider (look underneath the butterfly!)
I also spotted a couple of Small Coppers and a Peacock.


I finally found a Cowberry flower but think that they will be more in evidence in another fortnight or so. A pair of Stonechats were frustratingly out-of-range of my camera on the east bank of the reservoir.


A couple of these 2cm long caterpillars were found crossing the track at two separate locations. I wonder if these might be Antler Moth?







Sunday, 21 March 2010

A tortrix larva on Cowberry.

When I brought my Cowberry plant to the Bramham meeting a couple of people pointed out that the leaves on one of the plant tips were spun together into a hibernaculum.
Today, I decided to have a look inside and, sure enough, a rather active, small, dark tortrix larva was revealed as the industrious occupant.
A text search of the UKMoths website leads me to believe that it is likely to either be Rhopobota ustomaculana or Olethreutes mygindiana. According to Sutton and Beaumont; the first species is said to be "Recorded among cowberry on the Pennine moors in vice counties 63 to 65 where it is locally fairly common." The latter is also described as "Locally common on the higher moors."
I will rear the larva through to the adult and, having just read the description in Jozef Razowski's Tortricidae of Europe I am expecting it to be Olethreutes mygindiana.