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Chris Raper

@chrisraper.bsky.social
242 followers 193 following 288 posts

Entomologist/Dipterist (Tachinidae), ukiyo-e/yakusha-e (mainly Kunichika), fountain pen enthusiast, ancient Chinese coins, warden at Hartslock SSSI, manager of UKSI at the Natural History Museum, London

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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 21h
I'd have to agree with you ... it certainly looks different from the usual Amblyteles etc. I'm not sure what it is but if you showed it to Gavin Broad or sent it in to the NHM I could pass it to him and see if he could tell us. I know Jaswinder would probably give it a go too :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Clancy's & Rush Veneer still about in Tilehurst/Reading and FFY Blair's Shoulder Knot. Also, Chestnut, Barred Sallow & some lovely Lunar Underwing colour variations. #ukmoths #teammoth
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I've always been too old for late nights! Only time I stayed up all night moth collecting was in French Guiana - it was just manic. But in the UK I usually just go along and stay for some nice stuff to arrive then bail before midnight and get to my bed.
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I suppose our books include everything that has ever made it across the Channel which already must include things that are fairly uncommon there too.
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
It's interesting how the culture is different. To be fair, in the UK a lot of the old-school moth folk will put out lights and watch them all night with something to eat & drink. Trapping is more of a modern thing and a way to make it easy for beginners.
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
What are your main ID resources there? Are there good books for France or do people rely a lot on image recognition like iNaturalist? I have to admit that I use iNat as a first filter and it has saved me making really dumb mistakes. Then I just correct anything obviously wrong (very rare)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Yes, I suppose what makes it across the Channel is a good sign that the species is moving in numbers ... we also have plenty of coastal trappers watching out for new stuff. Is the moth trapping hobby very popular in France, with the locals?
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Nice to hear :) It makes me wonder if these are moths that have gone north on migration, like so many insects this year, or if they are local and have just had a good year - possibly due to the heatwave.
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Lovely to see they are doing well ... they still seem to be quite localised though. In some areas they are common and persist year on year but they haven't occupied all of the southern coastal strip yet
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Forgot the Deep-brown Dart from last night ... we've had a few of these in our road so I wonder if they are having a good year? #teammoth #ukmoths
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Interesting catch in Tilehurst last night, amongst the Lunar Underwings & Square-spot Rustics ... a Garden Cockroach (Ectobius vittiventris), which seems pretty unusual this far west. #teammoth #ukmoths #cockroach #ectobius
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Thanks Martin, yes I got it to Dioryctria and all the species close to it seem to like conifers, such as pines, so it explains why it looks odd here in a relatively pine-free area. :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Does anyone have any idea which knot-horn this might be (Reading area, last night)? I'm coming up blank here - looks interesting but I can't place it. #ukmoths #teammoth
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Clancy's has really arrived here this year - we've had L-album once a few years ago but the "big migration of 2026" has brought in tons of stuff in so many groups. Ironically, my best Clancy's catch this year was in Beaminster, which was one of the most westerly records yet! :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Good catch in Tilehurst last night: Clancy's Rustic (2), L-album Wainscot, Acleris cristana (Tufted Button), Oncocera semirubella (Rosy-striped Knot-Horn), Archips podana (Large Fruit-tree Tortrix), Barred Sallow, Meal Moth, Satellite, Black Rustic. #ukmoths #teammoth
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Yes, that's definitely correct - they are lovely flies :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Not a bad night in Reading - 3x Clancy's Rustics including a very rubbed one ... the last photo is a Small Mottled Willow, just for comparison. #ukmoths #teammoth
Clancy's RusticClancy's Rustic
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Not a bad night in West Dorset - first ever Clancy's Rustic and the most westerly record on iNaturalist, it seems. Also, Rosy Rustic, Barred Hook-tip & Delicate. #ukmoths #teammoth
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Should be fairly easy to ID too, if the keys by Val are still relevant? :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Yes, they are a vastly under-recorded group and yet they must be caught a lot by moth trappers. The only problem really is the need for a decent microscope to ID them or willing experts like Gavin Broad to send them to.
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Yes, saw loads in West Dorset (Beaminster, Powerstock & Cogden), including a few pale-form females. Always lovely to see :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Should still be Tachina fera rather than the new Tachina magnicornis :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I think it has to be Periscepsia carbonaria, with that heavy wing colouration ... very ncie :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Definitely Siphona and probably geniculata but you need a specimen to be sure of the ID :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Yeah, definitely a male so I'd go with T. magnicornis, though I can't see the bits clearly in this photos :D
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I'm guessing male - can you try hooking the genital capsule out? If make then it's very much a T. magnicornis and it would explain the "half long" claws ... shorter than fera but longer than a female magnicornis :D
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Very nice - I bet the phasiines will love the heat this year :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
It's a fair candidate for T. magnicornis ... is it male or female? I'm having difficulty with that underside photo and T.mag males have proclinate orbitals
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The Hummingbird Hawks this year are exceptional - everywhere I went in Dorset they were there on Buddleia or Purple Loosestrife :) I was happy with these snaps on my old Powershot G15 #teammoth #ukmoths
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Last West Dorset trap before heading home yielded a new one for me - Gem
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
That's a good tip - they have been over wintering here a while now but this year should see the local population really expand its range :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
They've all but replaced Clay in my Thames Valley garden ... I get one or two Clay now but a lot more White Point. They seem to have arrived in the last 5 years
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Yes, that’s the male :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Yes definitely C. globosa :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Thanks - yeah I came to the same conclusion ... I couldn't be that lucky! ;)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Well, there you go again - another "maybe I won't put it out", cold night and then you get your first ever Radford's Flame Shoulder! Also got a Flame Shoulder to compare it to :) #teammoth #ukmoths
Radford's Flame ShoulderFlame Shoulder
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
It certainly looks like what I’ve been calling Enicospilus ramidulus :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Lots of Clouded Yellows down in Dorset - including a few pale forms like this female contrasting to a normal coloured male seen on the previous day. I’m assuming they’re not the Pale Clouded Yellow but I’m not sure if I’d know the difference.
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
That’s nice - where in the world is it?
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
They are rather jolly - I remember getting a few in French Guianan malaise traps
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
One of those cold morning traps where you begin to wonder why you put it out ... then you get a Rosy Rustic and realise it was worth the effort :) also Knot Grass, Oak Hook-tip and Vestal. #teammoth #ukmoths
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Thanks Steve - yes it looked very distinctive - plus the wavy lines and lack of any white spots on the lower corner of the wing. Wow, best moth in a long time then on an otherwise pretty poor/cold night :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Mystery pug moth from last night in West Dorset. Coming up on apps as variously Channel Islands Pug, Thyme Pug, Wormwood Pug or Currant Pug ... the only one that looks remotely OK is Channel Islands Pug but is that at all likely? I guess it has been a good migrant year! #teammoth #ukmoths
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Found a really nice Cylindromyia brassicaria on Fleabane yesterday, around Beaminster - first time I'm caught one in the UK so rather chuffed :) Very easy to spot as the body is so long and it's a bigger fly than the Eriothrix rufomaculata on the same flowers.
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Yes, they are a bit tricky - hence me using more visible features in my blog. The leg bristles work well in a mainland European context as it help to split off some tricky species that we don't get here :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Yes, I'd label those C. brassicaria too ... they tick all the features in my mini key: tachinidae.org.uk/blog/disting...
tachinidae.org.uk
Distinguishing Cylindromyia spp. – Tachinid Recording Scheme
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Very nice - glad you found it easily - Thesium is very obvious on site and the mildew is usually pretty easy to spot. The dry weather probably in't helping it much though!
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Thanks! :) If you can take a specimen then that's the best way and I can take it and confirm the ID 100% for you :)
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Yes, it's a nice, friendly little club and everyone plays in a good spirit - plenty of handshakes and "well played" after every game :) Just need a bit more coaching on how to handle spin and to tighten up my forehand, which has been terrible since my shoulder injury
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Chris Raper @chrisraper.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Of course they are ... just some may be more noteworthy than others ;)
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