Barred Tooth-striped

On Saturday evening Dave and I headed to the Brecks for our first proper moth-trapping session.  One moth we hoped to see, but didn't really expect to see, was Barred Tooth-striped.  They mainly occur in southern chalk downs with isolated populations in Cumbria and the Norfolk/Suffolk Brecks.  A "Nationally Scarce A" species the sites where it has been recorded in Norfolk are kept confidential, so Dave and I didn't have much clue as to where to look for it.

We set up and quickly attracted the first of 9 Yellow Horneds to the sheet.

Yellow Horned, Norfolk Brecks, 11th March

They were nice, but otherwise it was pretty slow to start with.  We notched up a couple of Chestnuts and 3 Common Quakers along with 2 Common Flat-bodies Agonopterix heracliana.  I went for a walk with the headtorch which failed to add any moths but I did find a Common Pill Woodlouse Armadillidium vulgare.  I've seen Pill Woodlice before, and in all likelihood they were this species, but this is the first one I've seen since owning the key so being able to positively identify it to species level.

Common Pill Woodlouse Armadillidium vulgare, Norfolk Brecks, 11th March

We added Winter Shades Tortricodes alternella and more surprisingly, a Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella.  The latter is a migrant species and with the southerly airflow coming up from Africa I guess this one was fresh in - quite a few migrant moths have been recorded in the SW of England but not so many this far up and east.

Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella, Norfolk Brecks, 11th March

Winter Shades Tortricodes alternella, Norfolk Brecks, 11th March

This Twin-spotted Quaker was one of those where the twin spots are reddish not black...

Twin-spotted Quaker, Norfolk Brecks, 11th March

If I've remembered the order correctly the first geometer to arrive at the sheet was one of 2 Engraileds.  The next one settled on the sheet quickly where its identity was immediately obvious, and excitement levels for the evening suddenly went up a few notches - it was a Barred Tooth-striped!  I'm not honestly quite sure why site details for this species are kept confidential - I understand there's a risk of collectors taking too many when there's a rare and beautiful species involved, but nationally this one occurs in a few areas and although we thought it was pretty impressive it's not like a Bedstraw Hawkmoth or something like that!  Still, I'm happy to go along with the established practice of not naming the site, which is why all the photos on this page don't have full location details in their captions.

Barred Tooth-striped, Norfolk Brecks, 11th March

One of the next moths turned out to be the first of 5 Mottled Greys.  This is quite a thinly-distributed species in Norfolk, though seems to be a bit commoner in the Brecks.  These were not quite new for me as I'd seen one in Scotland, but new for me in Norfolk.

Mottled Greys, Norfolk Brecks, 11th March

We were then joined by Keith - nice to meet him at last.  We also picked up Tufted Button Acleris cristana, Water Carpet, 2 Small Quakers and Clouded Drab.

Tufted Button Acleris cristana, Norfolk Brecks, 11th March

Water Carpet, Norfolk Brecks, 11th March

A couple of quite splendid ground beetles showed differening colours and at first we thought we could make out differences in the way the elytra (wing cases) were sculpted so suspected we might have two different species.  On closer examination later I believe both were in fact Violet Ground Beetles Carabis violaceus.

Violet Ground Beetles Carabis violaceus, Norfolk Brecks, 11th March

There was another much tinier beetle which I am struggling to resolve at the moment.  It appears to be one of the Flea Beetles but I need to do some more work on it before I can fully identify it. I'll report back on it if I manage an ID...

A Diamond without diamonds

The night of 9th June was an odd one.  Not all that many moths but still a good selection of micros.  New for the house was a species I am used to seeing during the day but not coming to light - Swan-feather Dwarf Elachista argentella.

Swan-feather Dwarf Elachista argentella, North Elmham, 9th June

Good counts were 6 Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella and 5 Yellow-faced Bells Notocelia cynosbatella while London Dowd Blastobasis lacticolella was new for the year.  Other notable micros were Triple-spot Dwarf Elachista maculicerusella and Pointed Groundling Scrobipalpa acuminatella.

London Dowd Blastobasis lacticolelle, North Elmham, 9th June

Pointed Groundling Scrobipalpa acuminatella, North Elmham, 9th June

The other micros were 9 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, 2 Little Dwarfs Elachista canapennella, Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis, Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea and Small Magpie Anania hortulata. Interestingly one of the Diamond-backs lacked a pale line down the dorsum or almost any trace of the diamonds.  The only hint was that the sides between the diamonds were darker than the rest of the sides of the wings.  I did dissect it just to make sure...

Dimaond-back Moth Plutella xylostella (female), North Elmham, 9th June

Among the macros only Common Footman was new for the year.  The others were 2 Common Swifts, 3 Silver-ground Carpets, Garden Carpet, Green Carpet, Mottled Pug, 3 Common Pugs, Yellow-barred Brindle, Clouded Border, Waved Umber, 2 Light Emeralds, Poplar Hawkmoth, Swallow Prominent, Pale Tussock, 2 White Ermines, 5 Cinnabars, Shears, Light Brocade, 2 Brown Rustics, 9 Treble Lines and 2 Mottled Rustics.

Common Footman, North Elmham, 9th June

Waved Umber, North Elmham, 9th June

Only a couple of caddisflies but these included my first Limnephilus marmoratus (and a Limnephilus lunatus).

Limnephilus marmoratus (female), North Elmham, 9th June

I think this beetle found in the house is Cantharis cryptica.

Cantharis cryptica, North Elmham, 9th June

We're getting our garden done at the moment and in removing our old shed the gardener found a couple of mice.  One was a casualty which he put out of its misery but the other seemed ok so he showed me.  I'm not sure it was ok, as it's not very normal behaviour for a mouse to lie on its side in the open, but as dead as it looked it was definitely breathing.  A Wood Mouse I believe.

Wood Mouse, North Elmham, 10th June

It was a better night for moths with 45 species including Cypress Tip Moth Argyresthia cupressella, Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, Obscure Groundling Bryotropha similis, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 3 Treble Brown Spots, Brown Silver-line, Heart and Club and Burnished Brass all new for the year.

Cypress Tip Moth Argyresthia cupressella, North Elmham, 10th June

Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 10th June

Obscure Groundling Bryotropha similis (male, gen det), North Elmham, 10th June

Barred Marble Celypha striana, North Elmham, 10th June

Heart and Club, North Elmham, 10th June

Burnished Brass, North Elmham, 10th June

Other moths were Carrion Moth Monopis weaverella, 52 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, 3 Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella, 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, 4 Yellow-faced Bells Notocelia cynosbatella, Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, Hook-streaked Grass-Veneer Crambus lathoniellus, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 9 Bee Moths Aphomia sociella, 3 Common Swifts, Blood-vein, 2 Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets, 6 Silver-ground Carpets, 2 Common Marbled Carpets, 2 Broken-barred Carpets, Green Carpet, 3 Sandy Carpets, Mottled Pug, 7 Common Pugs, Brimstone Moth, 2 Light Emeralds, White Ermine, Buff Ermine, 2 Cinnabars, Heart and Dart, Flame Shoulder, Small Square-spot, 2 Shears, Rustic Shoulder-knot, 4 Brown Rustics, Clouded-bordered Brindle, Marbled Minor, Tawny Marbled Minor, Middle-barred Minor, 12 Treble Lines and Mottled Rustic.

A subimago Procloeon bifidum was a new Mayfly for me (a second invidivual was not positively identified).

Procloeon bifidum, North Elmham, 10th June

Also new was the caddisfly Polycentropus flavomaculatus - only at the time I posted this, and for 2-3 weeks after, I had it down as Polycentropus irroratus.  Females are quite difficult, at least for a novice, as after a few more I eventually concluded that the pointedness of the subgenital plate illustrated in the key is quite hard to determine, and looks rather more pointy in flavomaculatus than it's meant to.  The other caddis were in the genus Limnephilus including lunatus, marmoratus and vittatus.

Polycentropus flavomaculatus (female), North Elmham, 10th June

New caddis and new leafhopper

It's that time of year when I start getting really behind with a desk full of pots containing moths that need dissecting or other things that require close examination.  I'll do my best to keep up - or rather catch up - but no promises.

Last Monday (6th June) saw 25 species of moth at home including 7 new for the year (none of which were very unexpected): 5 Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, Light Emerald, Turnip Moth and Tawny Marbled Minor.

Light Emerald, North Elmham, 6th June

Small Magpie , North Elmham, 6th June

Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, North Elmham, 6th June

Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, North Elmham, 6th June

Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 6th June

The others were 18 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, Common Swift, Blood-vein, Garden Carpet, 2 Common Marbled Carpets, 2 Green Carpets, 4 Common Pugs, White Ermine, 2 Buff Ermines, 2 Cinnabars, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Small Square-spot, 3 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 3 Shears, Brown Rustic and 10 Treble Lines.

Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, North Elmham, 6th June

The following night was better with 36 species including another surge of Diamond-backs.  Another 7 were new for the year: Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis, Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, Small Rivulet, Grey Pug, Shoulder-striped Wainscot and Mottled Rustic.

Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis, North Elmham, 7th June

Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, North Elmham, 7th June

Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, North Elmham, 7th June

Shoulder-striped Wainscot, North Elmham, 7th June

Grey Pug (male, gen det), North Elmham, 7th June

The rest were 93 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, White-shouldered House Moth Endrosis sarcitrella, 4 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, 3 Yellow-faced Bells Notocelia cynosbatella, Hook-streaked Grass-Veneer Crambus lathoniellus, Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea, 5 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, 2 Bee Moths Aphomia sociella, Common Swift, Silver-ground Carpet, 3 Green Carpets, Sandy Carpet, 8 Common Pugs, Yellow-barred Brindle, Pale Tussock, Orange Footman, 4 White Ermines, 2 Buff Ermines, 5 Cinnabars, Heart and Dart, 2 Flame Shoulders, 4 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, Shears, Marbled Minor, 2 Middle-barred Minors, 17 Treble Lines and Spectacle.

Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, North Elmham, 7th June

Among the caddisflies Glyphotaelius pellucidus is now familiar, 2 Limnephilus lunatus were new for the year but one of the few caddisflies distinctive enough for me to have identified before getting the key this year, and 3 Mystacides longicornis, a species I think I recognise as having seen before but which I had not identified previously.

Limnephilus lunatus, North Elmham, 7th June

Mystacides longicornis, North Elmham, 7th June

Another pan-lifer came in the form of the leafhopper Oncopsis subangulata.

Oncopsis subangulata, North Elmham, 7th June

Tens of thousands of moths

On Saturday morning I was up at Titchwell birding and swimming in Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella.  OK, perhaps that's an exaggeration, but there really were a lot of them.  They were everywhere, but some places were thick with them - you could see maybe 50-100 in some small patches of vegetation with more appearing if the vegetation was disturbed.  I put down 1000 in my records but that really was a very conservative estimate - just of the moths I'd seen.  I couldn't possibly guess how many were actually there.  Tens of thousands obviously, hundreds of thousands probably, millions mabye?  I wouldn't be surprised.

Not much else of lepidopteran note - a Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana and 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana were the only other moths I saw in the misty murk.  A Scorpion Fly proved to be Panorpa germanica (gen det).

Next I headed to Dersingham Bog.  I thought there might be fewer moths here with it being further inland, or at least further from a north/east facing coast.  But there were loads of Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella here too.  The heath itself was quite windswept and there weren't many here (although still kicking up a few every few steps) but in the shelter of the woodland above the heath there were hundreds.  I didn't spend long here and didn't cover that much ground, but even so I must have easily seen 500.

I managed a few other moths too: 2 Green Long-horns Adela reaumurella, Brassy Tortrix Eulia ministrana, Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis and 3 Common Heaths.

Common Heaths, Dersingham Bog, 4th June

A leafhopper turned out to be Chamaepsylla hartigii, a first for me.  A wildflower tick for me here too, which I might not have noticed if it wasn't for the display board telling me about it.  Cranberry.  The flowers aren't exactly tiny and they're bright pink, yet they were strangely hard to see even when looking down on them.  I must have walked past them before, here at least if not elsewhere.

I wish I'd spent longer trying to get a decent photo of an amazing insect that I found on a log pile close to where I parked.  Turned out none of my photos of it were in focus, which is a bit disappointing.  It was obviously an Ichneumon wasp, but what an Ichneumon!  It was a monster!  An absolute beast!  Off the top of my head I can't think of another insect I have ever seen anywhere in the world as long as this.  The body was probably well over an inch long, the antennae about as long on top and then the ovipositor!  Wow!  I believe it's something called Ephialtes manifestator.

Ephialtes manifestator, Dersingham Bog, 4th June

But good as this was, top trump goes to a hoverfly.  A large and very distinctive hoverfly that I was pretty sure I hadn't ever seen before.  Turns out it was Sericomyia lappona, a species with a relatively restricted range in Norfolk.  Looks like it occurs only in west and north-west Norfolk, and given its preference of boggy habitat I would hazard a guess that Dersingham Bog might be the best place to see it in this county.

Sericomyia lappona, Dersingham Bog, 4th June

To the untrained eye this Hoverfly looks even more distinctive, but alas there are 2-3 similar species and the quality of my photos is not high enough for me to be 100% certain of its ID.  Probably Helophilus pendulus.  Not a greatly significant record even if the ID was clinched (either way).

Helophilus sp., probably Helophilus pendulus, Dersingham Bog, 4th June

My next stop was a little further inland, a footpath close to the Babingley River just south of West Newton.  I've been meaning to explore this path for ages.  The path starts running down the edge of a crop field on one side and on the other, a strip of low vegetation, a dyke and then a hedgerow.  It goes on like this for maybe a third of a mile before crossing a sheepfield and then running alongside the river itself.  I only got as far as the sheepfield.  Being a bit further inland I didn't expect especially huge number of Diamond-backs, although with the numbers I'd seen elsewhere I knew it would hold a good few.  Well, it was spectacular.  I have never seen anything like it.  As soon as I opened my car door a cloud of Diamond-back Moths got up beside me.  But this was only the start - they continued all the way down the path.  Counting them was impossible but I was keen to document how many there were so set about to estiamte numbers as accurately (but conservatively) as possible.  To give you an idea, a single stinging-nettle held about 20 - and that was just the ones I could see without disturbing it.  There were a lot of stinging nettles, and a lot of other plants with moths on.  In just one small section in front of me I could see hundreds, and that went on for pretty much the whole footpath.  A very conservative estimate for just this small stretch of footpath was 10-15,000 Diamond-back Moths.

With so many moths present it was hard to pick out any that were different, but I did manage a few.  Best was a new moth for me, and a very attractive one too - White-barred Gold Micropterix aruncella.  They're not hugely rare (indeed my second followed a couple of days later) but a first is always exciting, especially when they're so stunning.

White-barred Gold Micropterix aruncella, Babingley River near West Newton, 4th June

I also found 5 Cocksfoot Moths Glyphipterix simpliciella, a Common Marble Celypha lacunana and a Drinker caterpillar, but an interesting-looking small Plume moth sadly evaded my net.  Bugs included a number of Hairy Shieldbugs and the striking Cercopis vulnerata.

Hairy Shieldbugs, Babingley River near West Newton, 4th June

Cercopis vulnerata, Babingley River near West Newton, 4th June

Dragonflies included at least 20 Azure Damselflies and about 3 Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Azure Damselfly, Babingley River near West Newton, 4th June

Next stop was Roydon Common where I was to join the Norfolk Moth Survey for an evening's trapping.  I got there early - a lot early - with Dave so as to give ourselves plenty of time to look for day-flying moths before the trapping started.  A good time was had, with thousands more Diamond-back Moths, but I'll save the details for my next post...