A small black moth ? UK

[Donald Hobern]

I think that the description of the legs rules out the Eriocraniids.
Perhaps the most likely match would be Diurnea fagella, a member of
the family Oecophoridae, which is quite common at this time of year.

It is rather variable in ground colour.  Last year I caught several
that were almost black.  Certainly it exhibits yellowish chevrons on
the fore wings much as described.  The legs are exactly as described.
It comes readily to light.  If the wings extended beyond the end of
the abdomen it would have been a male.  If they reached more or less
to the end of the abdomen it would have been a female.  The texture of
the forewings is very dusty, as descibed.

An illustration of the moth is most easily found in the 'Field Guide In
Colour to Butterflies and Moths' by Ivo Novak (published by Blitz),
which has been on sale in many of the remainder bookshops at least down
here in Hampshire.  I have seen photographs in other general books on
insects.  Most such illustrations show a more typical tawny-grey ground
colour but the range is great.  I have a colour drawing I made last year
of a male that perfectly fits the desciption.

Donald 

"Roger C. KENDRICK" wrote:
> 
> Hi Ian,
> 
> If you have any birch trees nearby, I'd be tempted to say you have seen one of
> the several species of Eriocrania moths that occur in spring sunshine. They're
> all pretty small, about a 10mm wingspan when set. At rest, they hold their wings
> very steeply tented (tectiform). Under a handlens, the basic ground colour is
> usually a metallic dark purple, with a spattering of yellow or golden scales. The
> species are quite difficult to tell apart. There are several books to view,
> Chinery's Insects of Britian and Western Europe illustrates one species in its
> natural resting posture and the Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and
> Ireland gives much greater detail about all the species that occur in Britain,
> but the illustrations in the volume (either 1 or 2) are rather poor and don't do
> the colours justice.
> E. sparmanella (which occurs in Britain) is illustrated at
> http://mpi-seewiesen.mpg.de/~kaisslin/pheronet/ins/eriocsparr.html
> 
> Hope this helps,
> 
> Roger.
> 
> Dr Ian Dunn wrote:
> 
> > Hi
> >
> > Stuck my head out of the back door this am , into the sunshine , very close
> > to the conurbation of Nottingham to find something small and black on my wall
> > at about 1.5m basking in the sun . I've not seen this before . There is a
> > garden which usually seems insect friendly , a hedge row and fields the
> > otherside of the A 52 .There are ponds too .
> >
> > It's 1cm long , overall black but with a yellow V on its back and the
> > impression of being dusted with pollen ( perhaps it has been ! ) The legs
> > seem to be black and white , reminded me of a zebra spider ( only 6
> > though ! ) . At first I thought it might have been a beetle but a hand lens
> > leads me to believe it is a moth .
> >
> > Does this description remind any one of anything ?
> >
> > Ian

-- 

Donald Hobern : CB Development, MP 189, Hursley Park, Winchester,
England
E-MAIL        : dhobern at hursley.ibm.com
TELEPHONE     : +44 1962 815301