Posted: Mar 20, 2017 7:03 am
If you have Bindweeds growing in quantity near your home, this points to Emmelina monodactyla, which is not only the commonest of the UK plume moths, but capable of being found virtually year round in the right weather conditions. This page covers identification details.
The only other species I can find that rolls its wings so tightly at rest is Hellinsia carphodactyla, but that's restricted to limestone rich habitats well away from civilisation, and in addition has a very specific foodplant choice not likely to be found in an urban area. The plant in question is Ploughman's Spikenard, Inula conyzae, and although there's an odd population of this plant on the Sefton Coast not far from where I live, that's a somewhat unusual habitat for the plant - at this location, it's growing in sand dunes. Given a choice, this plant prefer limestone pavements and similar locations. Also, since the plant is a late season plant, the moths feeding upon it usually don't appear until mid-June at the earliest, so that again discounts carphodactyla.
Indeed, most of the UK species belonging to the Pterophoridae, are high Summer species as adults, ranging from mid-June to mid-September. Also ruled out on this ground, as well as on the ground of being a specialist larval feeder on Gentians, is Stenoptilia zophodactylus, which is also restricted to sea-cliffs and other limestone-rich habitats.
If ever you see a plume moth resting in a Y shape instead of a T shape like the current specimen, this will be one of the Agdistis species, which usually require genital dissection to separate, and which in addition are restricted to sea-cliffs and similar habitats.
The only other species I can find that rolls its wings so tightly at rest is Hellinsia carphodactyla, but that's restricted to limestone rich habitats well away from civilisation, and in addition has a very specific foodplant choice not likely to be found in an urban area. The plant in question is Ploughman's Spikenard, Inula conyzae, and although there's an odd population of this plant on the Sefton Coast not far from where I live, that's a somewhat unusual habitat for the plant - at this location, it's growing in sand dunes. Given a choice, this plant prefer limestone pavements and similar locations. Also, since the plant is a late season plant, the moths feeding upon it usually don't appear until mid-June at the earliest, so that again discounts carphodactyla.
Indeed, most of the UK species belonging to the Pterophoridae, are high Summer species as adults, ranging from mid-June to mid-September. Also ruled out on this ground, as well as on the ground of being a specialist larval feeder on Gentians, is Stenoptilia zophodactylus, which is also restricted to sea-cliffs and other limestone-rich habitats.
If ever you see a plume moth resting in a Y shape instead of a T shape like the current specimen, this will be one of the Agdistis species, which usually require genital dissection to separate, and which in addition are restricted to sea-cliffs and similar habitats.