Mis-identification of the Dark Brocade - Blepharita adusta (Esper).
After publishing a picture of the Dark Brocade several months ago
on our web pages, I received numerous e-mails kindly suggesting
that it may not be this moth but perhaps an odd looking Bright-line
Brown-eye - Lacanobia oleracea (Linn). Roy McCormick (County
Recorder for Devon) kindly contacted me and mentioned that in his
view,
it was not B.adusta (Dark Brocade) and that the eyes should be
hairy putting it within the sub-family HADENINAE. He very kindly
offered to set the moth and look further into its identification.
The eyes indeed turned out to be hairy thus confirming its sub-family
as HADENINAE.
Bodelva, Cornwall. 28th May 2003.
(Photo P.H.Boggis)
Fortuitously, a friend, Barry Henwood who had only recently been
discussing with Phil Sterling (Dorset
Moth Group) about a new moth
for the UK – Lacanobia splendens, called round to see Roy and
thought that the specimen on the setting board could possibly be
another L.splendens but by then the specimen was in poor condition
which made identification difficult. Barry therefore subsequently
offered to dissect it for genitalia examination. The possibility
of it being another L.splendens was also suggested independently
by Martin Honey (BMNH) and Phil Sterling both having viewed the moth
on the CMG web-site.
We have awaited with anticipation the outcome of the dissection,
since so far, this was the earliest specimen recorded. It was taken
at mv light on the 28th May 2003 at Bodelva, Cornwall.
I for one had hoped it would indeed turn out to be L.splendens and
not, as tentatively suggested, an odd looking Bright-line
Brown-eye!
Barry has now very kindly dissected the moth and unfortunately it
is indeed only an odd looking Lacanobia oleracea.
It is worth noting here an extract taken from Richard South's book
about another peculiar looking Lacanobia oleracea:
'On July 12, 1909, Mr. Esson, of Aberdeen, captured
a specimen of a noctuid moth at sugar on a fir tree. This he sent
to South for
identification. As the insect was a novelty to him, it was submitted
to Sir George F. Hampson, who, thinking that the moth was not only
a species new to science, but not even congeneric with any other
noctuid, described and figured it as Peucefhila essoni Hamps., vide
Trans. R. Ent. Soc. Land., 1909, Part IV, pp. 461-3, PI. xvi, Fig.
i, and Entom., 1909, p. 258. This insect has definitely been determined
by Mr. Tams to be only a striking aberration of Lacanobia oleracea.'
It would be interesting to see how this specimen compares with this
one taken at Bodelva on the 28th May 2003.
My thanks go to Roy McCormick, Barry Henwood, Phil Sterling, Martin
Honey, Mark Parsons and Steve Nash for their invaluable help and
suggestions in the identification, dissection and setting of this
moth and of course not forgetting John Gregory for its capture and
having the presence of mind to realise it may not be L.oleracea albeit
it has now turned out to be so!
Phil Boggis (Assistant County Recorder)
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