Not so Ghostly

Like most things in life sometimes it's difficult and sometimes its easy. Unfortunately with moth identification there are lost of groups that are very hard.

Ghost Moth ( Hepialus humuli) female

Last Thursday the I put up a picture of a male Ghost moth, and with its striking white wings it does look quite ghostly as it flies round. The female above is quite different, but it is still a striking moth.

Iron Prominent( Notodonta dromedarius)

This Iron Prominent is in the easy category, and as a whole the prominents are quite distinctive, although the Swallow ans Lesser Swallow pair can be tricky. I rerally like the furry legs on this family.

Shaded Pug (Eupithecia subumbrata)

In the macro moths one of the groups that gives me most trouble is the Pugs. These are amongst the smallest of the so-called macros and there are many large micros. They are also prone to rapidly loosing what distinctive marks they get worn. Consequently many are released with just a note of Pug sp. in my notebook. This one looks fairly distinctive and I think that it is a Shaded Pug, but if I am wrong it certainly want be the first time with this group, and it wouldn't be the last.