www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

IDs of these two would be appreciated.
The adult looks to me like one of the pyrausta but the colour is a bit odd for p. cingulata. It was found at Sand Point on the Severn Estuary. Wingspan at rest was less than 10mm.
The larva was in a hedgerow at the edge of Hazelbury Common in Wiltshire and was about 40mm long.

Thanks.

Hi Mike,

This is a Drinker moth larva:

http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=3699

And what looks like Pyrausta nigrata:

http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=3530

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks Pete. Not sure about p. nigrata as my sighting wasn't black. It was closer to aurata for colouration but the light markings are wrong for that.

Hi Eccles,

It might be worth sending the picture to James McGill c/o the Somerset Moth Group http://www.somersetmothgroup.org.uk/

It looks like P.nigrata to me but the moth is a rarity in Somerset: http://www.somersetmothgroup.org.uk/por ... ta+nigrata

Hi Mike,
I asked for confirmation on this ID on Back Garden Moths and they agree.
The moth is a pyralid and goes by the name of Pyrausta nigrata.

Denise

Thanks for the comments, all.

You could be right but I still think the moth is p. cingulata. UK Moths shows p. nigrata as black which my sighting wasn't - it was brown. P. cingulata is similar, and its habitat includes coastal areas which the Sand Point location satisfies. And the flight time agrees better than p. nigrata. Either way though it's a relatively uncommon moth, and an interesting find.

I couldn't find an email address on the Somerset Moths website to send sightings to, but as the location is also in the Avon Wildlife Trust catchment area, I've emailed a copy to the AWT species recorder for her opinion.

The moth is Pyrausta nigrata. P. cingulata and P. nigrata are of same colour, but P. nigrata has a whitish spot in the middle of forewing. In addition, P. nigrata has more angled postmedian fascia.

I guess I've been voted down then. Thanks, hjalava.

Here's a Somerset specimen of Pyrausta cingulata, photographed at Draycott Sleights early last August.