Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Case-bearers (Coleophoridae) (Part 4)

CASE-BEARERS (COLEOPHORIDAE) continued


Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella - Totals of 128 trapped at home between 25th May and 29th June 2019 and 79 between 20th May and 22nd June 2020, although on the busiest days some of these were not gen detted.  Peaks of 28 on 3rd and 7th June 2019 and 14 on 26th May and 12th June 2020.  2019 was my best year for this species although I had a higher count of 51 in 2018.  This is my commonest Coleophora here.  Also 12 confirmed from the Cathedral Meadows and singles at Bintree Wood, Frost's Common and Hills and Holes.  Typically this species is distinctly plainer (other than the pale costa) than alticolella and glaucicolella however there is variation.  Very occasionally a plain individual turns out to be one of the other species and caespititiella can have faint pale streaking inside the costa, albeit rarely as clear as it usually is on the other 2 species.

male Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham, 25th May 2019

male and female Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham, 7th June 2019

female Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham, 16th June 2019

female Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham, 20th May 2020

female Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June 2020

female Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham, 13th June 2020

Jointed-rush Case-bearer Coleophora tamesis - None.  I've never seen this species but although it's described as rare there are records from a little further up the valley so it's a possibility here.


Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella - 2 at the meadows on 25th May followed by 1 here on 1st June and another 10 here between 6th and 23rd July.  Also 2 at Weybourne.  11 here is a good tally - numbers fluctuate quite a lot with 17 in 2016 but only singles in 2017 and 2018.  A similar pattern in 2020 with the first at the meadows (on 17th May) well before those at home (5 between 26th June and 23rd July).

male Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

female Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella, North Elmham, 1st June 2019

male Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella, North Elmham, 16th July 2019

male Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella, North Elmham, 26th June 2020

female Grey Rush Case-bearers Coleophora glaucicolella, North Elmham, 22nd July 2020

Wood-rush Case-bearer Coleophora otidipennella - None.  I've only ever had one here, in 2017.


Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella - 8 trapped here between 25th May and 23rd June 2019 and 14 between 21st May and 15th June 2020, my best years for this species here (previous annual totals varying from 1-5).  Also recorded at the meadows on 6 dates.

male Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham, 3rd June 2019

female Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham, 23rd June 2019

female Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham, 21st May 2020

male Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham, 31st May 2020

male Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June 2020

female Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham, 15th June 2020

Small Rush Case-bearer Coleophora taeniipennella - One caught in the garden on 23rd July 2019, my third following singles here in 2016 and 2017.  None in 2020.

male Small Rush Case-bearer Coleophora taeniipennella, North Elmham, 23rd July

Black Bindweed Case-bearer Coleophora therinella - One trapped at Weybourne on 5th July 2019, the 9th record for Norfolk.  Despite the paucity of records I've had this species here in 2016 and twice at my last house in Bawdeswell (when I was only retaining a minority of Coleophora for confirmation). 

male Black Bindweed Case-bearer Coleophora therinella, Weybourne, 5th July 2019

Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella - A new moth for the garden when one was trapped on 4th August 2019, followed by a second on 9th August and a third on 9th August 2020.  Also one at Weybourne on 5th July 2019.  Although this species requires gen detting to separate from the next species, the small size and pale costa was a strong clue on a couple of these.

female Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella, Weybourne, 5th July

female Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella, North Elmham, 4th August

male Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella, North Elmham, 9th August

female Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella, North Elmham, 9th August 2020

Speckled Case-bearer Coleophora sternipennella - Just the one in 2019, here on 16th July, and none in 2020.  Only one in 2018 too but I have had as many as 12 in a year (2016).

female Speckled Case-bearer Coleophora sternipennella, North Elmham, 16th July 2019

Pale Orache Case-bearer Coleophora versurella - Singles in the garden trap on 25th July 2019 and 7th August 2020, and one at the meadows on 18th July 2020.  I had only ever recorded one before, and never here in North Elmham.

male Pale Orache Case-bearer Coleophora versurella, North Elmham, 25th July 2019

female Pale Orache Case-bearer Coleophora versurella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 18th July 2020

male Pale Orache Case-bearer Coleophora versurella, North Elmham, 7th August 2020

Next page: more Coleophora

Two-tick night at home

While I was out mothing at Brancaster my trap was running at home (16th July).  I didn't manage any new moths at Brancaster but made up for it at home with two new moths: Small Rush Case-bearer Coleophora taeniipennella and Plum Fruit Moth Grapholita funebrana.

Small Rush Case-bearer Coleophora taeniipennella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 16th July

Plum Fruit Moth Grapholita funebrana (male, gen det), North Elmham, 16th July

I was also very pleased to find my second ever European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis.

European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis, North Elmham, 16th July

A record of 4 Bulrush Cosmets Limnaecia phragmitella was interesting, a new species for the house.  At the old house I had 4 one night which were the first I'd seen there in 5 years, and then I went on to record lots more that same year (2014 - 27 in total).  I've only been at North Elmham 2 years, but didn't catch any at all here last year and like at Bawdeswell in 2014 this year kicked off with 4 and was followed by lots more (19 in the space of 2.5 weeks).  Of course all species are prone to fluctuation in numbers but maybe this one more so than others, with lots emerging in a short space of time?

Bulrush Cosmet Limnaecia phragmitella, North Elmham, 16th July

A good selection of other new moths for the year: Woundwort Case-bearer Coleophora lineolea, Long-horned Flat-body Carcina quercana, Burdock Neb Metzneria lappella, 3 Dull Red Groundlings Bryotropha senectella, Two-coloured Bell Eucosma obumbratana, 2 Pearl Veneers Agriphila straminella, 2 Chequered Grass-veneers Catoptria falsella, 3 Small Blood-veins, 3 Dingy Footmen, Buff Footman, Cabbage Moth, Dun-bar and 2 Lesser Common Rustics.

Long-horned Flat-body Carcina quercana, North Elmham, 16th July

Woudwort Case-bearer Coleophora lineolea (female, gen det), North Elmham, 16th July

Burdock Neb Metzneria lappella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 16th July

Dull Red Groundling Bryotropha senectella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 16th July

Cabbage Moth, North Elmham, 16th July

Lesser Common Rustics (males, gen det), North Elmham, 16th July

I think this night was the first of 2016 to have reached over 100 species at home - 262 moths of 104 species.  Just over half were macros, the ones not already mentioned being 2 Drinkers, Buff Arches, 3 Small Fan-footed Waves, 3 Dwarf Cream Waves, Small Dusty Wave, 4 Single-dotted Waves, Treble Brown Spot, 13 Riband Waves, Garden Carpet, Yellow Shell, Barred Straw, Foxglove Pug, Green Pug, 2 Clouded Borders, Brimstone Moth, Swallow-tailed Moth, Mottled Beauty, 2 Common White Waves, Clouded Silver, Privet Hawkmoth, 3 Poplar Hawkmoths, 2 Elephant Hawkmoths, 2 Buff-tips, Brown-tail, 16 Rosy Footmen, 4 Scarce Footmen, 8 Common Footmen, 8 Buff Ermines, 2 Flames, Flame Shoulder, 5 Double Square-spots, Brown-line Bright-eye, 3 Clays, 2 Smoky Wainscots, 8 Dark Arches, Light Arches, Tawny Marbled Minor, Cloaked Minor, 2 Common Rustics, 24 Uncertains, Marbled White Spot, Burnished Brass, Spectacle, Herald, Beautiful Hook-tip, 2 Straw Dots, 4 Snouts and 7 Fan-foots.

Herald, North Elmham, 16th July

The micros not yet mentioned were Bird’s-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, 4 Bird-cherry Ermines Yponomeuta evonymella, Hawthorn Ermel Paraswammerdamia nebulella, 2 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, Common Oak Case-bearer Coleophora lutipennella, Pale Thistle Case-bearer Coleophora peribenanderi, 2 Golden-brown Tubics Crassa unitella, Small Dingy Tubic Borkhausenia fuscescens, Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, 2 Cinereous Groundlings Bryotropha terrella, Gorse Crest Brachmia blandella, Hawthorn Cosmet Blastodacna hellerella, Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana, Red-barred Tortrix Ditula angustiorana, 2 Grey Tortrixes Cnephasia stephensiana, 2 Flax Tortrixes Cnephasia asseclana, 2 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 3 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 2 Pine Marbles Piniphila bifasciana, Plum Tortrix Hedya pruniana, Marbled Orchard Tortrix Hedya nubiferana, 3 Triangle-marked Rollers Ancylis achatana, Holly Tortrix Rhopobota naevana, Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, 7 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Pale Water-veneers Donacaula forficella, 2 Water Veneers Acentria ephemerella, 6 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, Small Grey Eudonia mercurella, Chequered Straw Evergestis pallidata, 3 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, 3 Elder Pearls Anania coronata, Fenland Pearl Anania perlucidalis, Dusky Pearl Udea prunalis, 8 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, False Cacao Moth Ephestia unicolorella, 2 Ermine Knot-horns Phycitodes binaevella and Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla.