Another wall moth....and something else

Spotted lurking on a wall on St David`s Day was this Agonopterix ocellana, one of quite a few species in this genus that overwinter.

The weather conditions on Thurs/Fri night currently looks promising for trying out your moth traps -though please re-check the forecast for your area closer to that date, just in case this is one of my `false predictions`!

In the absence of moths, something that nevertheless may be of  interest, I also found this adult Dicranopalpus caudatus (= ramosus) on a wall on 1/3/15. This distinctive harvestman species is not supposed to survive overwinter as an adult (though it does by way of eggs). Last year, I also had another seemingly wintering harvestman. Leiobunum blackwalli on 1/1/14. Changing times?

Above: Dicranopalpus in its very characteristic resting position, with legs `held opposite`. Note that while this individual has survived the winter, it has lost some legs!