Back in October I spent a very interesting day learning a bit about lichens at Dinefwr, Llandeilo courtesy of Plantlife. Along the way I acquired a leaf of Hart's-tongue fern with
Psychoides workings on the underside. This was in a pot in my unheated garden shed waiting for summer but I happened to notice a moth in it two days ago. This turned out to be a worn
filicivora presumably fooled by the warm days of Christmas. Hopefully I will get a fresh one for a decent picture later in the year.
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| Larval workings on Hart's-tongue fern. |
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| Psychoides filicivora seen 2nd January but must have emerged several days earlier. |
I see a lot of Psychoides larval workings under hart`s-tongue ferns but, as I understand it, unless they are reared the species can`t be determined. P. filicivora (ie the same as yours, the one with the dorsal spot) is the one I see and I believe that the other species, verhuella, has only occasionally been recorded in Carms. Thanks for posting Chris - I`m sure that others will now be `on the look out`.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ian. First moth of the year and new to me so that's a good start!
ReplyDeletefilicivora larvae are sometimes abundant on the spore-producing ferns outside the back door and the Spring emergence usually requires in daily ejections from the house! Scaly Male-fern fronds often host a dozen or more larvae
ReplyDeletefilicivora larvae are sometimes abundant on the spore-producing ferns outside the back door and the Spring emergence usually requires in daily ejections from the house! Scaly Male-fern fronds often host a dozen or more larvae
ReplyDelete