3 thoughts on “Forester moth, Motcombe Meadows

  1. Martin Love

    ? Scarce Forester ? Pointy wings tips, compare with other “forester moth” picture down the page ?

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    1. Lynda Lambert Post author

      Hi Martin, Paul Harris replied to my query as follows:
      3:51 PM

      Hi Lynda, well firstly there are no (known) records of Scarce Forester for Dorset. Although not impossible it seems unlikely to have been overlooked. That means it would almost certainly have to be one of the other two species, Forester or Cistus Forester. OK, next lets look at the ID criteria: We need to check the antennae. These are feathered so its a male. The feathering does not extend to the tip and the tip is broad and blunt. On Scarce Forester the feathering extends to the tip and the tip is narrow and tapered. Right, that means this cannot be Scarce based on distribution and also on the diagnostic antenna feature. To then separate Cistus from Forester is probably not possible, Cistus is smaller but this means nothing from a lone photo. The finder could check for the presence of Common Rock-rose at the site. If there is categorically none present then this would have to be Forester. Cistus Forester cannot be present if the food plant isn’t present. It is an interesting record though as DMG shows no Forester records from this site. It would be worth investigating to find out which one it was for sure. Hope this makes sense! In essence though it is not Scarce Forester but one of the other two. Very nice photo btw. Cheers Paul.
      Mark Pike doesn’t think there are Common rock Roses at Motcombe Meadow, so it seems it must be a Forester moth. However he will have a close look next time he visits just to be sure.
      Thanks for your interest.

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      1. Martin Love

        Hi Lynda
        Thanks for your interesting note re: Forester’s. I visited the site on Saturday for the first time and noted a ‘Forester’ but was unable to get close enough for a photo or definite identification. I shall visit the site again soon and have a particular look for more Forester’s and Common Rock-rose.
        Cheers

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