Slim Pickings

 The evenings have been mild this week so I've had the MV on at the Beddington obs. Just a couple of micro moths.

Did a few hours on Wednesday along the permissive footpath at Beddington- very quiet. 

Gulls and micro moths- this is real bottom of the barrel stuff, and I can't even put a name to most of them! 

 This gull had features of a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull but the upperparts looked more argenteus Herring Gull like. 

Acleris sp (above and below) . According to Hants Moths flying tonight page the most common Acleris is schalleriana at the moment although sparsana, ferrugana and notana are all possible.  The one below with the costal blotch looks okay for schalleriana but not sure about the above one.  

Several of these acleris species require genital dissection to identify them. I remember Neil Stocks (A barrister from the Beddington Farm Bird Group) who made the remark that once a naturalist find them-self staring at the genitals of a micro moth (especially in light of global inequality and the sixth extinction etc) they probably need to question life choices that brought them to that point. For those who have arrived at that point, which could be a result of all the right choices, this website is the place to be: MOTHS TWIG AND BERRIES. I'm not quite there yet but heading that way. 

Not sure what this is supposed to be? A worn mompha? A caddis? For God's sake we need Spring to arrive!