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Garden visitor
Ladybird4
Posts: 37,905
Can anyone help me to identify this beautiful moth that visited my garden recently?
Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
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One of the Carpet Moths? Not sure which ... possibly the Galium Carpet?
http://butterfly-conservation.org/51/1/identify-a-moth.html
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I think it's one of the carpets. ?Netted maybe. Not sure, I don't think we've had that one in the trap.
They're not called carpet moths because they eat carpets Ladybird, that sort are something different altogether
Last edited: 20 August 2016 14:59:54
In the sticks near Peterborough
Glad I was on the right track
All the Carpet Moths are incredibly beautiful aren't they?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I think it is a Galium Carpet - it seems to be rather variable, but Google gives some close matches.
Thank you so much Dove, nutcutlet and Alan. It was so beautiful I had to take a picture as I had never seen one like that before. Eeek, I've just looked up Galium and one of that plant family is the wretched Goosegrass or Cleavers. I wonder if that is what the moth caterpillars feed on? If so they'll have a field day in my garden!
Food plant is Bedstraws, related to goosegrass, maybe they'd eat some of that as well
In the sticks near Peterborough
Having further researched after your assistance in pointing me in the right direction, it might be the Broken Barred Carpet. Please take a look and see if you all agree
It is similar to the Broken Barred, but according to my book it only flies in May and June, which seems to rule it out. The Galium has a second brood in August.
I did actually photograph this in June and only just got it put onto my laptop. whatever it is I'm glad to have found it in the garden