Description


A diary of my mothing activity covering highlights and photos from my moth trapping activities. Mainly Norfolk (UK), occasionally beyond. I may mention other wildlife sightings here, especially insects, but for birds see my birding diary.

Thursday 6 December 2018

Grapholita lobarzewskii - the second for Norfolk (and first for the vice-county)

The pheronome lures often attract insects that aren't their target and this Syrphus ribesii (a hoverfly) was one such example.

Syrphus ribesii, North Elmham, 21st June


New moths for the year that night were Common Groundling Teleiodes vulgella, Base-lined Grey Scoparia basistrigalis, Clay and Plain Golden Y.

Common Groundling Teleiodes vulgella, North Elmham, 21st June


Base-lined Grey Scoparia basistrigalis (male, gen det), North Elmham, 21st June


Plain Golden Y, North Elmham, 21st June


The rest of the moths that unremarkable night were 3 Large Ivy Tortrixes Lozotaenia forsterana, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis, Marsh Grey Eudonia pallida, Garden Pebble Evergestis forficalis, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, Common Emerald, Single-dotted Wave, 3 Treble Brown Spots, Riband Wave, Garden Carpet, 2 Barred Straws, Clouded Border, 2 Willow Beauties, Engrailed, Common White Wave, Light Emerald, Elephant Hawk-moth, Common Footman, 9 Buff Ermines, 2 Cinnabars, 2 Heart and Clubs, Heart and Dart, Ingrailed Clay, Common Wainscot, 2 Brown Rustics, 4 Uncertains, and Spectacle.

If that was poor then the following night is probably best described as tragic.  Just 16 moths of 12 species, in the fourth week of June (and no mayflies, lacewings, caddisflies, bugs or beetles).  It may have been cool but this is ridiculous!  They were London Dowd Blastobasis lacticolella, Light Brown Apple-moth Epiphyas postvittana, 2 Large Ivy Tortrixes Lozotaenia forsterana, Common Swift, Single-dotted Wave, Common Footman, 3 Buff Ermines, Heart and Club, Heart and Dart, Ingrailed Clay, 2 Brown Rustics and Dark Arches.

Common Swift, North Elmham, 22nd June


Next day a quick visit to the allotments produced Yellow Shell and a Dock Bug.  I put the pheronome lure out again for Grapholita lobarzewskii.  This is a newly-developed lure and Jon Clifton caught Norfolk's first lobarzewskii in his garden when trialling it last year, but it also attracted a number of Grapholita janthinana.  Aware of this it was no great surprise when I found a Grapholita in the lure trap to find that it was 'just' a Pale-bordered Piercer Grapholita janthinana.  But that's only the second time I've had this moth here so not all that bad really.

Pale-bordered Piercer Grapholita janthinana (male, gen det), North Elmham, 23rd June


That night was only a little better than the previous one, with London Dowd Blastobasis lacticolella, Flax Tortrix Cnephasia asseclana, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, 2 Single-dotted Waves, Riband Wave, Clouded Border, Brimstone Moth, 2 Willow Beauties, Mottled Beauty, 5 Buff Ermines, Cinnabar, 3 Heart and Clubs, 3 Heart and Darts, Double Square-spot, Bright-line Brown-eye, Common Wainscot, 5 Brown Rustics, 3 Uncertains, Burnished Brass, Spectacle and Straw Dot.

The following day got a whole lot better, starting with the contents of the Grapholita lobarzewskii pherenome lure trap.  In it was a moth that looked superficially similar to Grapholita janthinana, but was immediately obviously different from the Grapholita janthinana I'd caught in there the previous day.  For a starter it was substantially larger, but it was also structurally different being noticeably longer and at least proportionately narrower in the wing.  From below the hindwing cilia looked white and when I managed to encourage it to show its hindwings they were really dark.  Surely this was the boy!  I was so sure I was tempted not to dissect it - surely it couldn't not be lobarzewskii!  But this is a significant record and would only be accepted on dissection so I dutifully did the business.  Sure enough, it proved to be a male Kent Fruit Piercer Grapholita lobarzewskii, the second record for Norfolk (and first for this vice county).  A nice fresh one too, which is something I can't say about most of the janthinana I've seen previously!

Kent Fruit Piercer Grapholita lobarzewskii (male, gen det), North Elmham, 24th June


Here it is with the Grapholita janthinana from the previous day, for comparison:

Pale-bordered Piercer Grapholita janthinana (left) and Kent Fruit Piercer Grapholita lobarzewskii (right)


Remarkably this wasn't my only new moth that day as the night's moth trap produced a Rose Case-bearer Coleophora gryphipennella.  To be fair I didn't have much inkling about this one until I dissected it quite a long time later.  They say that the antennae being clearly ringed right to the tip is a good indicator for this species, but to my eyes this species is extremely similar to various other Coleophora species, some of which can have antennae ringed to the tip.

Rose Case-bearer Coleophora gryphipennella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 24th June


Triangle-marked Roller Ancylis achatana, Swallow-tailed Moth and Dingy Footman were all new for the year that night.

Triangle-marked Roller Ancylis achatana, North Elmham, 24th June


Swallow-tailed Moth, North Elmham, 24th June


Other moths were Tipped Oak Case-bearer Coleophora flavipennella, Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, Common Yellow Conch Agapeta hamana, Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana, 2 Large Fruit-tree Tortrixes Archips podana, Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, Light Brown Apple-moth Epiphyas postvittana, 3 Large Ivy Tortrixes Lozotaenia forsterana, 5 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella, Inlaid Grass-veneer Crambus pascuella, 2 Small Greys Eudonia mercurella, 8 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, White Plume Pterophorus pentadactyla, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, Dwarf Cream Wave, 2 Small Dusty Waves, Riband Wave, Garden Carpet, 3 Barred Straws, 3 Barred Yellows, Foxglove Pug, Double-striped Pug, Lilac Beauty, Willow Beauty, Mottled Beauty, Common White Wave, 2 Common Footmen, 8 Buff Ermines, Cinnabar, 2 Heart and Clubs, 3 Heart and Darts, 2 Flames, Ingrailed Clay, 4 Double Square-spots, Common Wainscot, 4 Brown Rustics, Marbled Minor, Tawny Marbled Minor, Treble Lines, 13 Uncertains, Mottled Rustic, 2 Straw Dots and Snout. Caddisflies were Hydropsyche pellucidula and 2 Grouse Wings Mystacides longicornis.

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