Couple of moths

[zigzag_wanderer]

Hi all,

Couple of moths for ID help if you'd be so kind.

The first I found at work yesterday, tucked in at the base of the plastic ID/care label of a delphinium in a one litre pot.

It was positioned vertically, head-first into the compost.

Is it a Common Wainscot ?

I assume the bald spot is just a sign of ageing rather than its head-first habit ?

The second was taken on a soggy walk at Old Lodge in the Ashdown Forest last Sunday. The redstarts were hiding unfortunately, but there were lots of Common Heath moths about which I could ID, but not this much smaller one.

Thanks as always for any help.

[Allan.W.]

Hello Zig-zag ,
Your Wainscot looks good for Common Wainscot ,the other ,not too sure but could be Blastobasis lacticolella which is very variable.
Happy to be corrected ! A good site, that i use is the UK MOTHS site , take a look .
Regards Allan.W.

[zigzag_wanderer]

Thanks as always Allan.

Good to confirm the Wainscot and your possible ID for the second moth looks a decent shout to me. Some of the images of it do look quite close to mine. But you are right - variability within a species doesn't make moth IDing any easier !

UKmoths is very good. NatureSpot is great too.....the people of Leicestershire and Rutland should be very proud of that site