Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Geometers (Geometridae) - part 6: Carpets V and Pugs I (Mesotype to Eupithecia I)

GEOMETERS (GEOMETRIDAE) (continued)


Twin-spot Carpet Mesotype didymata - One caught in my garden trap on 26th June 2019.  This was only my second here following one in 2015.  None in 2020.

Twin-spot Carpet, North Elmham, 26th June 2019

Rivulet Perizoma affinitata - None in the garden in 2019 but one on 12th June 2020 - I average one a year but 2019 wasn't my first blank.  Elsewhere one at the meadows on 25th May 2019 and 3 on Mull in June 2019.  I don't find the usually-stated feature of the indentation in the crossband to be consistent, or at least clear in many individuals, and when size isn't obvious I resort to measuring them and, in a few cases, dissecting them.  They normally prove to be the species I thought they were going to be, but I have been surprised by a couple of individuals.

Rivulet, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

Rivulets, Carsaig (Mull), 13th June 2019

Rivulet, North Elmham, 12th June 2020

Small Rivulet Perizoma alchemillata - One in the garden trap on 19th May 2019 then 18 between 10th July and 6th August 2019 and 19 between 30th June and 20th August 2020.  I average about 20 a year so these were fairly typical.  Elsewhere 7 at the meadows (including 2 spring generation ones on 17th May 2020), one at Bintree Wood and one in Hellesdon.

Small Rivulet, North Elmham, 19th May 2019

Small Rivulet, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 17th May 2020

Small Rivulet, North Elmham, 1st August 2020

Barred Rivulet Perizoma bifaciata - None.  I've recorded this in the garden 3 times (2014 and 2017).


Grass Rivulet Perizoma albulata - Previously I've only ever seen this species during the day on wet flower-rich meadows so it wasn't really a moth I was expecting to trap at home.  So one in my garden trap on 23rd June 2019 was a nice surprise, even if it wasn't the tidiest specimen I've ever seen.

Grass Rivulet, North Elmham, 23rd June 2019

Sandy Carpet Perizoma flavofasciata - Totals of 8 in the garden between 20th May and 23rd July 2019 and 8 between 17th May and 31st July 2020.  I've averaged 13 a year and these were my lowest totals so far.  Also 2 at the meadows and one at Bintree Wood.

Sandy Carpet, North Elmham, 20th May 2019

Sandy Carpet, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 31st May 2019

Sandy Carpet, North Elmham, 12th June 2020

Marsh Carpet Gagitodes sagittata - None.  I've never seen this fabulous moth but it occurs in the Wensum Valley at least as far up as Sparham Pools.  Maybe, just maybe, there are a few a little bit further up the valley too, and one day one might come to light here or at the meadows...


Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata - A total of 11 in the garden between 21st March (my earliest ever) and 22nd April 2019 and then 24 between 24th June and 3rd September 2019.  Then in 2020, 6 between 5th and 26th April and 34 between 24th June and 7th September.  The totals of 35 and 40 were a bit below the average of 47.  Recorded 3 times at the meadows and also at Whitwell Street, Swanton Great Wood, Sculthorpe Moor, Brancaster and in Cornwall.

Double-striped Pug, North Elmham, 21st March 2019

Double-striped Pug, North Elmham, 9th April 2020

V-Pug Chloroclystis v-ata - Singles caught in the garden on 24th June and 21st July 2019.  This was my worst showing to date - I average 12 of these a year.  A more typical 11 in 2020 between 18th May and 12th August.  Elsewhere one at Sculthorpe Moor on 26th April 2019 was my earliest ever and one at Whitwell Street on 3rd September 2020 was my latest ever.

V-Pug, North Elmham, 18th May 2020

Sloe Pug Pasiphila chloerata - None in 2019 but my second and third records ever were in 2020: my first at home on 31st May and my first at the meadows on 18th June.

male Sloe Pug, North Elmham, 31st May 2020

female Sloe Pug, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 18th June 2020

Green Pug Pasiphila rectangulata - Totals of 10 in my trap between 2nd June and 23rd July 2019 and 4 between 11th and 17th June 2020.  Since the 39 in my first full year here (2015) numbers have decreased every year.  I hope it's a dip rather than a long-term trend as they're beautiful little moths.  Elsewhere 3 at the meadows and one at Weybourne.

Green Pug, North Elmham, 2nd June 2019

Green Pug, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 23rd June 2019

Green Pug, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 30th June 2019

Haworth's Pug Eupithecia haworthiata - None.  I've had 4 here, all between 2016 and 2018.


Slender Pug Eupithecia tenuiata - Totals of 4 in the garden trap between 10th and 25th July 2019 and 3 between 17th and 31st July 2020.  I've had up to 5 in a year (2015 and 2018) but also none (2017).  I've not found this species anywhere but in my garden since I moved here in 2014.

Slender Pug, North Elmham, 10th July 2019

Slender Pug, North Elmham, 23rd July 2019

female Slender Pug, North Elmham, 17th July 2020

female Slender Pug, North Elmham, 31st July 2020

Maple Pug Eupithecia inturbata - Totals of 15 caught here between 22nd July and 9th August 2019 and 18 between 29th July and 15th August - my best years for this species so far (average is less than 10/year).  Elsewhere 2 at the meadows on 4th August 2019 and 2 on 7th August 2020. A high proportion of Maple Pugs I catch are too worn to identify based on external appearance, although I've usually got a pretty good idea what they are before confirming.  One of the 2020 moths was partially melanic - the forewings were mostly uniform dark (though not as dark as the stigma which were still clear) except at the base which was paler, and a pale subterminal line (last photo below).

male Maple Pug, North Elmham, 30th July 2019

male Maple Pug, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 4th August 2019

female Maple Pug, North Elmham, 9th August 2019

female Maple Pug, North Elmham, 4th August 2020

female Maple Pug, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th August 2020

male Maple Pug, North Elmham, 7th August 2020

melanic female Maple Pug, North Elmham, 9th August 2020

Toadflax Pug Eupithecia linariata - None in 2019 and then 2 in the garden trap on 12th August 2020, a new moth for the garden.  I find this and the next species a much more troublesome duo to identify than the literature suggests they should be, with considerable overlap in the main characteristic.

male and female Toadflax Pugs, North Elmham, 9th August 2020

Foxglove Pug Eupithecia pulchellata - Totals of 5 in my garden between 1st June and 25th July 2019 and 3 between 20th May and 2nd July 2020.  Annual totals here have fluctuated between one in 2017 and 19 in 2016.  Elsewhere 4 on Mull, 3 at Hills and Holes, one at Bintree Wood and a late one at Row Heath (West Runton) on 31st August 2019.  I'm slightly worried about that one as it's a very late date for this species (much less so for Toadflax Pug) but I didn't remember that at the time - this was a group event and I don't recall if it was my identification or someone else's, or how carefully I or anyone else checked it.

Foxglove Pug, North Elmham, 20th May 2020

Foxglove Pug, Hills and Holes, 21st May 2020

Foxglove Pug, Bintree Wood, 13th June 2020

Marsh Pug Eupithecia pygmaeata - None in 2019.  I was keen to record this species locally after having a possible at Creaking Gate Lake a few years ago that I didn't quite see well enough to clinch it.  I got my chance unexpectedly on 12th August 2020 when I netted one along the railway at the bottom of the meadows.  I wondered if it might be Marsh Pug but it was a very late date for this species and it was unusually plain and dark (though it was a bit worn).  In the absence of any other clear contenders, but in view of the importance of getting this interesting record correct, it went under the microscope and proved indeed to be a Marsh Pug.

male Marsh Pug, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August 2020

Netted Pug Eupithecia venosata - One in my garden moth trap on 21st May 2020.  I had never seen one before and it was pretty high up on my list of most-wanted moths, maybe even at the top, so it was very exciting to find it in my trap.  There hadn't been any records from my 10km square before, but a few from the squares to the east and Keith caught one at Litcham to the west in 2018, so I had high hopes. 

Netted Pug, North Elmham, 21st May 2020

Next page: more Geometridae

3 new moths for the garden and a new lacewing

It was a poor night by neighbouring night's standards on 4th August with just 40 species.  Only one was new for the year, though a moth I'd only seen here once before: Small Dotted Buff.

Small Dotted Buff, North Elmham, 4th August

Other moths were Carrion Moth Monopis weaverella, Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella, Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, 2 Little Ermines Swammerdamia pyrella, Woundwort Case-bearer Coleophora lineolea, Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, Straw Conch Cochylimorpha straminea, 3 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, 2 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, 9 Straw Grass-veneers Agriphila straminella, 30 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, Beautiful China-mark Nymphula nitidulata, Mother of Pearl Pleuroptya ruralis, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, 2 Common Plumes Emmelina monodactyla, Single-dotted Wave, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Shaded Broad-bar, Common Carpet, Small Waved Umber, Maple Pug, Dusky Thorn, Early Thorn, Scalloped Oak, Pebble Prominent, Swallow Prominent, Coxcomb Prominent, 2 Dingy Footmen, Ruby Tiger, 5 Turnip Moths, 2 Flame Shoulders, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, 6 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 3 Common Wainscots, 2 Straw Underwings, Twin-spotted Wainscot, Silver Y and 7 Straw Dots.

Twin-spotted Wainscot, North Elmham, 4th August

Other insects included Blue-winged Olive Serratella ignita (a mayfly) and Bradycellus verbasci (a beetle). Also noticed a Common Zebra Spider Salticus scenicus indoors during the day.

The following night was considerably better. with no less than 3 new moths for the garden including one I'd never seen anywhere before.  The lifer was Clouded Slender Caloptilia populetorum, apparently an increasing species with as many records in Norfolk in the last couple of years as there had ever been up to 2015.

Clouded Slender Caloptilia populetorum, North Elmham, 5th August

I thought this very worn moth was going to be one of the Momphids but on dissection it clearly didn't fit.  Skimming through other genitalia diagrams came across similar ones for the two Blastodacna species.  I see hellerella quite often and this was much bigger (forewing length 6 mm, worn).  Mine was in fact an Apple-pith Moth Blastodacna atra, a much rarer species.  I'd seen one in 2012 when living at Bawdeswell wbich was only second site the species had been recorded at in Norfolk since the 1800s and 3 people have recorded them since then, but it remains a very scarce species in Norfolk.  Don't think I would have ever guessed this ID from the moth's external appearance, although the size would have been a pretty big clue if I'd ever managed to figure out that it was a Blastodacna.  Fortunately there are a few small differences in the genitalia and this confirmed it.  The one I saw in 2012 was much easier!

Apple-pith Moth Blastodacna atra (female, gen det), North Elmham, 5th August

The third new moth for the garden had come from at least 15 miles away and was a bit more straightforward to identify: a Saltmarsh Plume Agdistis bennetii.  My third saltmarsh species this summer, though unlike the Silver-streaked Case-bearer Coleophora limoniella and the Saltern Groundling Scrobipalpa instabililla this species is well-known for occasionally wandering inland.

Saltmarsh Plume Agdistis bennetii, North Elmham, 5th August

There were 3 more moths that were new for the year: Pine Leaf-mining Moth Clavigesta purdeyi, Miller and 5 Flounced Rustics.

Pine Leaf-mining Moth Clavigesta purdeyi, North Elmham, 5th August

Miller, North Elmham, 5th August

Flounced Rustics, North Elmham, 5th August

A Twin-spotted Wainscot was my fifth this year - remarkable for a not-particularly-common species that lives in reedbeds.  It was in fact the fourth consecutive night the species turned up here, but definitely different individuals involved.  Also noteworthy were 4 Maple Pugs - double the highest number I've trapped on one night before.  Another record count was 6 Golden Argents Argyresthia goedartella.

Maple Pug, North Elmham, 5th August

The other moths were Carrion Moth Monopis weaverella, Bird’s-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, a Parornix sp. (escaped before it could be identified), Ermine sp. Yponomeuta padella/malinellus/cagnagella, 2 Little Ermines Swammerdamia pyrella, 3 Diamond-backs Plutella xylostella, Small Dingy Tubic Borkhausenia fuscescens, 3 Brown House Moths Hofmannophila pseudospretella, 2 Long-horned Flat-bodies Carcina quercana, Dark Neb Bryotropha affinis, 4 Cinerous Nebs Bryotropha terrella, House Neb Bryotropha domestica, 5 Dingy Dowds Blastobasis adustella, 2 Light Brown Apple-moths Epiphyas postvittana, 2 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, Blotched Marble Endothenia quadrimaculana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, 3 Marbled Piercers Cydia splendana, 23 Straw Grass-veneers Agriphila straminella, 33 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 2 Water Veneers Acentria ephemerella, Little Grey Eudonia lacustrata, 2 Small Greys Eudonia mercurella, 2 Beautiful China-marks Nymphula nitidulata, Garden Pebble Evergestis forficalis, Pale Straw Pearl Udea lutealis, 15 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, 3 Grey Knot-horns Acrobasis advenella, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, Blood-vein, 3 Single-dotted Waves, 2 Red Twin-spot Carpets, 5 Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets, Common Carpet, Small Phoenix, 2 Currant Pugs, 3 Double-striped Pugs, 3 Yellow-barred Brindles, 2 Magpie Moths, 2 Brimstone Moths, 2 Canary-shouldered Thorns, 2 Willow Beauties, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Pale Prominent, 2 Dingy Footmen, Scarce Footman, 3 Turnip Moths, 3 Shuttle-shaped Darts, 12 Flame Shoulders, 4 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, 9 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, White-point, 3 Common Wainscots, 3 Straw Underwings, Cloaked Minor, 2 Vine's Rustics, Spectacle and 5 Straw Dots.

Yellow-barred Brindle, North Elmham, 5th August

Cloaked Minor, North Elmham, 5th August

Among the other insects the clear highlight was another new pine-feeding brown lacewing, this time Hemerobius stigma.

Hemerobius stigma, North Elmham, 5th August

Other lacewings were 2 Chrysoperla carnea, Cunctochrysa albolineata, Dichochrysa flavifrons and 3 Micromus variegatus.  Mayflies consisted of Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum, Pale Evening Dun Procloeon bifidum and 8 Blue-winged Olives Serratella ignita and the caddisflies were 2 Ithytrichia lamellaris, Hydropsyche pellucidula, 4 Hydropsyche siltalai, Limnephilus marmoratus, Molanna angustata and Leptocerus tineiformis.

Among the leafhoppers this Lamprotettix nitidulus was new for the year.

Lamptotettix nitidulus, North Elmham, 5th August

I think this leafhopper is Oncopsis flavicollis but I have never seen this form before - it looks completely different from others I've seen.

Oncopsis flavicollis, North Elmham, 5th August

Apart from those leafhoppers, the only bug was Stenodema calcarata.

Stenodema calcarata, North Elmham, 5th August

Acorn Weevil Curculio glandium was new for the year.  Other beetles were 3 Amara apricaria, Bradycellus verbasci, Nicrophorus investigator and Aphodius rufipes.

Acorn Weevil Curculio glandium, North Elmham, 5th August

Finally there were 5 Hornets.