Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Eggars (Lasiocampidae), Emperor (Saturniidae) and Hawk-moths (Sphingiidae)

EGGARS (LASIOCAMPIDAE)


December Moth Poecilocampa populi - Totals of 22 in the garden between 16th November and 5th December 2019 and 37 between 6th November and 12th December 2020.  These were my best totals so far and included peaks of 7 on 22nd November 2019 (a record count) and 6 on 24th November 2020.  Also caterpillars in the garden on 23rd March 2019 and 5th April 2020.  Elsewhere singles at the meadows in both years.

December Moth, North Elmham, 23rd November 2019

December Moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 24th November 2019

December Moth caterpillar, North Elmham, 5th April 2020

December Moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 8th November 2020

Pale Eggar Trichiura crategi - Singles trapped at home on 4 dates between 28th August and 5th September 2019 and on 24th August 2020.  Even allowing for the possibility of having re-trapped the same individual once or twice the 2019 series was a good showing as I've only ever caught 2 before (2015 and 2016).

Pale Eggar, North Elmham, 28th August 2019

Pale Eggar, North Elmham, 24th August 2020

Lackey Malacosama neustria - None.  I've never seen this species although it seems to be common enough in various parts of Norfolk.  Not round here though - a complete lack of modern-day records anywhere near here until one in the Reepham area in 2020 - maybe there is hope?


Small Eggar Eriogaster lanestris - None.  I'm yet to record this species at home despite seeing a colony of caterpillars in next door's hedge in 2018, less than 50m away from my moth trap.  It appears that this species doesn't come to light easily - I've only ever trapped one adult anywhere.


Oak Eggar Lasiocampa quercus - One at Weybourne on 5th July 2019 and one in the garden on 13th July 2020, my 5th record here in 6 years.

Oak Eggar, North Elmham, 13th July 2020 - making a Large Yellow Underwing look small

Fox Moth Macrothylacia rubi - None in Norfolk but 4 caterpillars at various points along the Cornish coast between Porthgwarra Moor and St Loy in October 2020.  Despite being quite easy to find in the Brecks, the west Norfolk heaths and parts of the east coast this species appears to be completely absent from central Norfolk, even from the heathy areas.  In view of that I'm probably not very likely to record one locally, but you never know...

Fox Moth caterpillar, St Loy (Cornwall), 5th October 2020

Drinker Euthrix potatoria - 2 very poor years for this species with singles in the garden moth trap on just 3 dates, 16th and 20th July 2019 and 20th July 2020.  I've averaged 4 a year here and never had as few as one before.  Elsewhere 2 at the meadows, 2 at Bintree Wood and singles at Hellesdon and Mull.

Drinker, Carsaig (Mull), 11th June 2019

Drinker, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 18th July 2020

Lappet Gastropacha quercifolia - This was the main target on a visit to Brancaster dunes with Will and Sarah on 2nd July 2020 and we were made up when one came in to the LED lights.  An absolutely incredible moth, and one that had long been high up on my most-wanted list.

Lappet, Brancaster, 2nd July 2020

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EMPEROR (SATURNIIDAE)


Emperor Moth Saturnia pavonia - Attracted to pheremone lure here on 21st April 2019 and 9th April 2020, my second and third records here.  Also 5 to lure at the meadows between 29th March and 20th April 2019 and one on 8th April 2020.

Emperor Moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 29th March 2019

Emperor Moth, North Elmham, 21st April 2019

Emperor Moth, North Elmhamn Cathedral Meadows, 8th April 2020 (I had the lure out for just a couple of minutes; these were taken after I'd put it away but the smell must have remained on the surface where I'd placed it (it did fly off after a while)

Emperor Moth, North Elmham, 9th April 2020

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HAWK-MOTHS (SPHINGIDAE)


Lime Hawk-moth Mimas tiliae - One at Weybourne on 5th July 2019.  I've only ever had one of these at home (2016) - not sure where my nearest Limes are.  I had one at the meadows in 2018 despite no limes there either.  None in 2020.


Eyed Hawk-moth Smerinthus ocellata - None in the garden moth trap in 2019 despite averaging 7-8 a year over the previous 4 years, but 7 here between 20th May and 25th June 2020.  Elsewhere 2 to LED lights at the meadows, 2 at Weybourne and 2 at Brancaster.

Eyed Hawk-moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 23rd June 2019

Eyed Hawk-moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 17th May 2020

Eyed Hawk-moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 9th June 2020

Poplar Hawk-moth Laothoe populi - Totals of 32 at home between 7th May and 27th August 2019 and 40 between 9th May and 16th August - fairly typical years.  Elsewhere 2 next door, 2 at the meadows, 5 at Hellesdon, 3 at Weybourne and singles at Bintree Wood, Hills and Holes and on Mull.

Poplar Hawk-moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 30th June 2019

Poplar Hawk-moths, North Elmham, 26th May 2019

Poplar Hawk-moth, North Elmham, 9th May 2020

Convolvulus Hawk-moth Agrius convolvuli - None.  The only example of this migrant species that I've ever trapped was in my garden in October 2016.  My garden doesn't do well for migrants generally so it's never likely to be more than a very occasional visitor here.


Privet Hawk-moth Sphinx ligustri - 8 caught in my garden between 5th June and 4th August 2019 and 9 between 26th May and 6th July 2020, fairly typical showings.  Elsewhere one at the meadows and one at Weybourne.

Privet Hawk-moth, North Elmham, 5th June2019 - with a Treble Lines for scale

Privet Hawk-moth, North Elmham, 6th July 2020

Pine Hawk-moth Sphinx pinastri - One in the garden trap on 22nd July 2019.  That was only my 5th since moving in in August 2014 so it was pretty remarkable that I caught 8 here between 19th May and 29th July 2020 (all singles except 2 on 18th July).  Elsewhere one at Swanton Great Wood on 27th August 2019 and 3 at Bintree Wood in 2020.

Pine Hawk-moth, North Elmham, 22nd July 2019

Pine Hawk-moth, Swanton Great Wood, 27th August 2019

Pine Hawk-moth, North Elmham, 18th July 2020

Pine Hawk-moth, North Elmham, 29th July 2020

Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth Hemaris fuciformis - None.  I've never recorded this species locally but there are a small number of recent records from not far away so it's feasible that I will someday.


Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum - One at the meadows on 29th July 2019 hovered  briefly at a Rosebay Willowherb flower but didn't actually feed before flying off, and I was unable to relocate it.  I've never recorded this species in my garden but with it being a small sheltered garden there isn't much room to grow suitable sun-loving flowers.


Bedstraw Hawk-moth Hyles gallii - None.  I've never seen this scarce migrant locally (only at the coast where it breeds).  Records in mid Norfolk are few and far between but there's a chance I might get one here one day.


Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila elpenor - Totals of 37 caught in the garden between 30th May and 1st August 2019 and 33 between 18th May and 23rd July 2020 - both at or close to the bottom end of the range of annual numbers of this species here.  Elsewhere 3 at the meadows, 5 at Hellesdon, 2 at Weybourne, one at Brancaster and a total of 8 on Mull.  A neighbour asked my to go and have a look at a mystery creature she had found on a plant in her garden on 16th August 2020 - it was an Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar.

Elephant Hawk-moth, North Elmham, 30th May 2019

Elephant Hawk-moth, Carsaig (Mull), 11th June 2019

Elephant Hawk-moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th July 2019

Elephant Hawk-moth, North Elmham, 17th July 2020

Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar, North Elmham, 16th August 2020

Small Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila porcellus - One at Weybourne on 5th July 2019.  I caught 3 in my garden in 2015 and one the following year but none now for 4 consecutive years.  None in 2020.

Small Elephant Hawk-moth, Weybourne, 5th July 2019

Next page: Geometridae

Fantastic moths in the Brecks

The run of poor nights for moths last week finished with Muslin Moth and Hebrew Character on Friday night and Common Flat-body Agonopterix heracliana, 2 Hebrew Characters and Early Grey on Saturday night. On Saturday I'd failed to find any moths on the patch during the day, despite a handful of butterflies (Orange-tips, Brimstone and Peacocks) and other insects like Dark-edged Bee Fly and Buff-tailed Bumblebee (also a Stoat).

Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Bittering, 30th April

Sunday night looked better - not brilliant, but the best night for a while and the best for a few days to come.  So Dave and I took the opportunity to try out mothing at Cranberry Rough in the Brecks.  Turned out to be excellent!  We started off in the afternoon at Santon Street, an NWT site Dave's obtained permission to trap at.  This was largely a reckie as we didn't know the site at all.  I think it will be good, though we didn't manage to record any moths this afternoon (but my first caddisfly of the year which gave me a chance to use my new Handbook on Trichoptera (caddisflies) - it was Brachycentrus subnubilus - and also the green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea).  In the car park opposite we found Common Green Shieldbug and Parent Bug - the latter a new species for me.

Parent Bug, Santon Downham, 1st May

Common Green Shieldbug, Santon Downham, 1st May

Our chosen location for trapping was Cranberry Rough.  I'd been there recently during the day and reckoned it could be good, and so it proved.  It wasn't perfect weather and it followed a run of cold nights, so we didn't expect huge amounts.  But our low expectations just contributed to how pleased we were when we found a good variety of moths coming to our lights including several species we don't see all that often.  And that was before the really exciting ones turned up.  We used 3 lights - my MV over a sheet, an Actinic and a UVB bulb powered by a car battery.

Among the first moths in was the first of 5 Lunar Marbled Browns, a species I'd only seen once before.

Lunar Marbled Brown, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Also in early were the first few of 6 Water Carpets, a couple of Frosted Greens, 5 Pine Beauties and 3 Early Tooth-stripeds, another species I don't see every year. 

Frosted Green, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Pine Beauty, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Early Tooth-striped, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Micros included a few Common Oak Purples Dyseriocrania subpurpurella and a Common Birch Bell Epinotia immundana. 

Common Oak Purple Dyseriocrania subpurpurella, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Common Birch Bell Epinotia immundana, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

At Dave's actinic we found the first of 2 Dawn Flat-bodies Semioscopis steinkellneriana, Tufted Button Acleris cristana and what was very probably an Early Purple Eriocrania semipurpurella.  The latter keyed out to semipurpurella fine but is considered safest to gen det to confirm.  Unfortunately I had a bit of an accident with it which rendered that impossible.

Dawn Flat-body Semioscopis steinkellneriana, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

I think it was the actinic that produced another good moth, Red-letter Flat-body Agonopterix ocellana.  Though not particularly scarce this was a new moth for me, so I was very pleased to see one at long last.  Dave's actinic hardly gave off enough light to be able to see the moths with - we needed to use a torch too - but it proved worth having with us.

Red-letter Flat-body Agonopterix ocellana, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Back at my MV we added Streamer, Spruce Carpet, an Oak-tree Pug among numerous Brindled Pugs, a Swallow Prominent, Great Prominent, a Red Chestnut, Angle Shades and Nut-tree Tussock. 

Spruce Carpet, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Oak-tree Pug, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Swallow Prominent, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Great Prominent, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Red Chestnut, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Then in came something odd which neither of us recognised.  A distinctive moth - we knew it was something different right away, but what?  It had its wings held wide, almost Carpet-like, but I had a feeling it wasn't holding them the way it should, and that made me wonder if it was a moth we'd mentioned earlier on as we passed some Broom but which neither of us had seen before.  I checked my app and yep, that's exactly what it was, a Broom-tip! 

Broom-tip, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

And then it duly hitched its wings up like its supposed to and actually looked like they do in the books.  Fantastic!  Not a common moth by any means - indeed a Nationally Scarce species and a UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) priority species, and not recorded in Norfolk every year.

Broom-tip, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Finally we headed up to Dave's UVB light.  Only a few moths in here, including a second Red Chestnut, another Swallow Prominent and a Pebble Hook-tip. 

Pebble Hook-tip, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Then as we turned over an eggtray from the bottom of the trap there staring us in our faces was an absolutely fantastic female Emperor Moth!  Male Emperor Moths fly during the day and can be attracted to pheremone lures (as we did last year) but females fly at night, and I have never seen one before.  In many ways this was more exciting than even the Broom-tip, such a fantastic beast it was!

Emperor, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

We realised it had laid some eggs which we tried to knock off into some Hawthorn.  They were stuck rigid on the cardboard so we tore off the cardboard round them and left the whole lot in the Hawthorn.

A peculiar looking spider or mite in one of the egg trays held our curiosity, until we realised it was a tick.  A quick Google search confirmed our fears - it was a Deer Tick.  I've always known that walking around in the Brecks carries a high risk of an encounter with a Deer Tick but never actually seen one before (so a tick in more ways than one).  At least we saw it in an eggtray and not attached to our legs, but it made us feel itchy and uncomfortable even so!  I checked myself and my clothing carefully when I got home, although  the reality is that we were no more (or less) at risk because we'd seen one than if we hadn't.  Apparently they look even uglier when they're feeding on you.

 Deer Tick, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Common Earwig, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Other moths not so far mentioned included Common Flat-body Agonopterix heracliana, Red Twin-spot Carpet, 2 Double-striped Pugs, 3 Common Quakers, Clouded Drab, 3 Hebrew Characters, 2 Early Greys and 3 Chestnuts.  Also another green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea.

Chrysoperla carnea, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Plenty of caddisflies too, allowing me a chance to practice their ID.  I'd recommend the handbook - based on the first few I've tried it makes their ID quite easy compared to a lot of groups - very well laid out and simple to follow.  You need a  microscope (maybe you could manage with a good lens, but it won't be so easy) but you don't need to do any complicated dissections or anything.  From tonight I identified 3 species: Grammotaulius nigropunctatus, Limnephilus auricula and Limnephilus griseus.

Grammotaulius nigropunctatus, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Limnephilus auricula, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Limnephilus griseus, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Beetles were represented by Black Sexton Beetle, Orange Ladybird and two that I'd not identified before, though both looked familiar: Dalopius marginatus and Cantharis decipiens.

Dalopius marginatus, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Cantharis decipiens, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Black Sexton Beetle, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Orange Ladybird, Cranberry Rough, 1st May

Given how well we managed in the Brecks I had hopes of a good range in the home moth trap too.  Well there were more than there have been lately, but not hordes.  If we hadn't had one already that night Red-letter Flat-body Agonopterix ocellana would have been a lifer - as it was just new for the house.  Amazing how often that's happened - seeing a moth for the first time when moth-trapping away from home and then coming back to find one at home too.  Not surprising in a way as the conditions for their emergence are the same at different sites, but as the glaring holes in my moth list get fewer it will surely stop happening soon.

Red-letter Flat-body Agonopterix ocellana, North Elmham, 1st May

A rarer moth was this Streaked Flat-body Depressaria chaerophylli.  It's only the 20th record for Norfolk so quite scarce.  New for the house of course, though I did have one in my final year at Bawdeswell.

Streaked Flat-body Depressaria chaerophylli (female, gen det), North Elmham, 1st May

First for the year for the garden were Powdered Quaker and Nut-tree Tussock.  Also Common Flat-body Agonopterix heracliana, Streamer, Common Quaker, 2 Hebrew Characters and Early Grey.

Powdered Quaker, North Elmham, 1st May

Also Black Sexton Beetle and two more Caddisflies, Glyphotaelius pellucidus and Limnephilus auricula.

Glyphotaelius pellucidus (male above, female below), North Elmham, 1st May - unusual among caddisflies in being sexually dimorphic