Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Slenders and Midgets (Gracillariidae) (part 2: Aspilapteryx, Calybites, Acrocercops, Leucospilapteryx and Callisto)

SLENDERS and MIDGETS (GRACILLARIIDAE) (continued)


Ribwort Slender Aspilapteryx tringipennella - 6 here between 26th July and 5th August 2019 represented a below average year for this species but 2020 smashed my record with 29 between 18th May and 29th August (peaking at 4 on 23rd and 26th July).  Similarly at the meadows, one in 2019 and 6 in 2020 (including an earlier one on 2nd May).

Ribwort Slender Aspilapterix tringipennella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 26th July 2019

Ribwort Slender Aspilapterix tringipennella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd May 2020

Gold-dot Slender Euspilapteryx auroguttella - None.  This distinctive species looks like it should be common enough round here but it continues to studiously avoid my lights and net.  Its foodplant grows at the meadows so I shall have to look carefully for its mines in 2021.


Little Slender Calybites phasianipennella - Singles caught in my garden trap on 22nd and 24th July 2019 and 11th April and 5th and 19th August 2020.  I've only seen this species here twice before, both in 2016.

Little Slender Calybites phasianipennella, North Elmham, 22nd July 2019

Little Slender Calybites phasianipennella, North Elmham, 5th August 2020

Brown Oak Slender Acrocercops brongniardella - I've not seen this species before, but I think I found the remains of a leaf-mine at the meadows on 20th September 2019.  As always, please correct me if I'm wrong - I'm not great with leaf-mines.

vacated leaf-mine of Brown Oak Slender Acrocercops brongniardella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th September

Mugwort Slender Leucospilapteryx omissella - Singles caught in the garden on 24th July and 20th August 2020.  At this point this was a species that wasn't on my radar and I hadn't previously identified, and I nearly mistakenly put these down as Brown Oak Slender Acrocercops brongniardella.  That caused me to re-examine my photos of my previous record of brongniardella (from here in 2016) and sure enough, that was in fact also omissella.

Mugwort Slender Leucospilapteryx omissella, North Elmham, 24th July 2020

Garden Apple Slender Callisto denticulella - My first ever example of this species was caught in my garden moth trap on 12th June 2020.

Garden Apple Slender Callisto denticulella, North Elmham, 12th June 2020

Next page: more Gracillariidae

Dusking in the Brecks

Dave and I planned to do some moth trapping in the Brecks on Monday night but by the time we arrived the cloud cover had already gone and with temperatures dipping it was clear that trapping was going to be a waste of time.  But we had half an hour or so of light left so we wandered around in the hope of finding some good moths.

Dave found this Red Roller Ancylis mitterbacheriana before I'd got out of the car.

Red Roller Ancylis mitterbacherina, Cranwich Heath, 16th May

Two Coleophoras proved to be a new species for me, Wood-rush Case-bearer Coleophora otidipennella.

Wood-rush Case-bearers Coleophora otidipennella (males, gen det), Cranwich Heath, 16th May

Other species included Bird’s-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella, probable Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, Little Ermel Swammerdamia pyrella, Red-brindled Dwarf Elachista rufocinerea, 8 Swan-feather Dwarfs Elachista argentella, Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, Red Twin-spot Carpet, 12 Green Carpets and White-pinion Spotted.

Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana, Cranwich Heath, 16th May

Swan-feather Dwarf Elachista argentella, Cranwich Heath, 16th May

Hawthorn Slender Parornix aglicella (male, gen det), Cranwich Heath, 16th May

Little Ermel Swammerdamia pyrella, Cranwich Heath, 16th May

Green Carpet was also new for the year for home that night but there weren't many other moths: Many-plumed Moth Alucita hexadactyla, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Streamer, 3 Common Pugs, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Coxcomb Prominent, Chocolate-tip, 6 Muslin Moths, Cinnabar and 2 Hebrew Characters.  A Glyphotaelius pellucidus was the only caddisfly recorded.

The following night produced a crop of new moths for the year (for the garden): Carrion Moth Monopis weaverella, Ribwort Slender Aspilapteryx tringipennella, Dark-barred Tortrix Syndemis musculana, Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea, Great Prominent and Orange Footman. Always good to get a Great Prom in the garden!

Carrion Moth Monopis weaverella, North Elmham, 17th May

Ribwort Slender Aspilapteryx tringipennella, North Elmham, 17th May

Dark-barred Tortrix Syndemis musculana, North Elmham, 17th May

Orange Footman, North Elmham, 17th May

I think the Mullein was arguably better than any of those though - my third ever and second this year.  Surely a good year for these - lots of people I follow on Twitter seem to be seeing them this year.

Mullein, North Elmham, 17th May

I was almost as impressed with this Fly Bug Reduvius personatus sitting on top of my moth trap.  Not sure how scarce these are really as I've seen one before (in Norwich) but there aren't all that many dots on the National Biodiversity Network map.  Apparently they eat other bugs.

Fly Bug Reduvius personatus, North Elmham, 17th May

Caddisflies included one Glyphotaelius pellucidus and at least 10 Limnephilus auricula.  My newly-acquired Mayfly ID guide isn't, so far, proving its worth.  This one's particularly frustrating as a clearer description could have allowed ID I think.  It's a Cloeon sp. for which some features seem to match dipterum better while others (notably the absence of red stripes in the eyes) fit simile better.  The text in the guide refers to the number of cross-veins at the tip of the forewing - easy to count on my specimen and apparently diagnostic with 9-11 in simile and 3-5 in dipterum.  The annoying thing is there are no illustrations to accompany it and no description to explain how much of the wing-tip qualifies as the "tip".  My specimen had 3-5 cross-veins in the very tip and then some more (bringing it up to 9-11) a bit further in but still within the region that might (?) be described as the tip.

 Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum or Lake Olive Cloeon simile, North Elmham, 17th May

So far that's 2 out of 2 Mayflies I haven't been able to identify using the guide - a disappointing start after being extremely impressed with all the other FSC guides I've used so far.  (Incidentally, the veins look dark in my photo but in reality they weren't dark at all).

Aspilatpteryx

Went dusking on the patch this evening after work.  Caught a few moths, though not as many as I'd have liked.

The first site had Dark-barred Tortrix Syndemis musculana and Sandy Carpet.

Sandy Carpet, near Bittering, 21st May

I'm pretty sure I managed to put a name to a fly like this in the past, but whether I did or not, I can't now...

unidentified fly, near Bittering, 21st May

Next site scored with Large Long-horn Nematopogon swammerdamella - my sixth this year - are they having a good year or have I just been lucky?  Also a caterpillar crawling up a Copper Beach tree - like the last one this looks a bit like Dun-bar to me but I would appreciate confirmation or otherwise.
 

unidentified caterpillar, possibly Dun-bar?, Bittering, 21st May

Finally Creaking Gate Lake produced a bit more, starting with only my third ever Ribwort Slender Aspilapteryx tringipennella.

Ribwort Slender Aspilapteryx tringipennella, Creaking Gate Lake, 21st May

Also here were Gorse Case-bearer Coleophora albicosta, Chinese Character, Silver-ground Carpet and Green Carpet.

 Gorse Case-bearer Ceolophora albicosta, Creaking Gate Lake, 21st May