Monday 9 February 2015

My first breeding success of the year - Phyllonorycter roboris.

I made a special effort last October to try to find mines of this relatively scarce species. In Worcestershire it has been recorded fairly regularly as a leaf mine at the Wyre and Monkwood. There are also older records from the Knapp and the Old Hills.
I found the mines to be extremely difficult to find in Monkwood last year - I managed one intact mine in a two hour search. Things were slightly better in the Wyre at Lodge Hill where I found 4 mines in a similar time period. The mines are reasonably easy to differentiate from the other Oak feeding Phyllonorycters. They are large (15mm+ long) underside mines usually with a smooth surface.

I brought the mines indoors in late January and one from the Wyre produced the rather beautiful adult photographed here. Oliver Wadsworth

2 comments:

  1. We don't have any images of their bits on the dissection site Oliver. When you sign up for the daily digest to be delivered by e-mail, your name is lost, so right at the start I'll be like a nagging mother and ask that you add your name right after the blog. I've done it for you this time!

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  2. Nice work as always Oliver and an interesting post. Cracking moth too.

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