Flicking through the Sterling, Parsons and Lewington guide the closest I could get (Pancalia) wasn't good enough. What the heck was it? Not being a fan of photographic guides I hadn't thought to consult my copy of Manley. Desperate times call for desperate measures. A flick through that and I had a name, Chrysoesthia drurella, the Flame Neb.
It apparently can be found and indeed swept from open and waste ground. The larvae feed by mining the leaves of goosefoot (Chenopodium) and orache (Atriplex). There are over a hundred records on NBN and it has quite a wide distribution, plus it appears to be distinctive enough to not need dissection. So my question is, why doesn't it appear in the SPL guide? There is a pic of the leaf mine in the Gelchid text section, but not much more.
It also makes me realise that perhaps my phobia of photographic guides might be a little.......'silly'.
The blog post title inspiration is a rather lovely recent discovery.
Had one in 2013 but not since. Mine looked in better nick than yours though. Was certainly one of the first moths where I learned that there is life beyond the field guide
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