Review of 2019 and 2020 - Bugs: Plant bugs - part 7: Phylini II (Phoenicocoris to Psallus)

PLANT BUGS (MIRIDAE) (continued)


Tribe PHYLINI (continued)


Phoenicocoris obscurellus - One in my garden moth trap on 13th July 2019, my second record here following one in 2018.

Phoenicocoris obscurellus, North Elmham, 13th July 2019

Phylus coryli - One in the garden on 25th June 2020 came to a pheremone lure trap for Yellow-legged Clearwing.  I caught 5 in my moth trap in 2017-18 but none recorded in 2019.

Phylus coryli, North Elmham, 25th June 2020

Phylus melanocephalus - I gather that 'Phylus palliceps' is now considered to be a variety of Phylus melanocephalus and not a separate species - both forms occur here though the orange-headed palliceps type are commoner than the original black-headed melanocephalus.  Singles caught in my garden moth trap on 24th June and 16th July 2019 (both palliceps-type) and 7 between 11th June and 4th July 2020 (3 palliceps-type and 4 traditional melanocephalus).  Also a black-headed one swept off Broom at the meadows on the earlier date of 1st June 2020.

Phylus melanocephalus, North Elmham, 24th June 2019

Phylus melanocephalus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 1st June 2020

Phylus melanocephalus, North Elmham, 12th June 2020

Plagiognathus arbustorum - One in my moth trap on 24th June 2019 was new for my garden; another here (found indoors) on 6th July 2020.  The same day as the latter one on St John's Wort at the meadows and then one there on Hogweed on 20th July.

Plagiognathus arbustorum, North Elmham, 24th June 2019

Plagiognathus arbustorum, North Elmham, 6th July 2020

Plagiognathus arbustorum, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 6th July 2020

Plagiognathus chrysanthemi - One swept at the meadows on 20th July 2020, my second record of this species.  Then a week later one in the garden moth trap, my first here.

Plagiognathus chrysanthemi, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th July 2020

Plagiognathus chrysanthemi, North Elmham, 27th July 2020

Psallus falleni - 4 males in the garden moth trap between 10th and 17th August 2020.  I'd only identified this species once before (2018) but I think I have overlooked it in the past (as I think I did for what was almost certainly another one on 8th August 2020 - misidentified at the time due to a contradiction in the reference I was using regarding the width of pale at the base of the cuneus).

Psallus falleni, North Elmham, 12th August 2020 - showing aedeagus in second photo

Psallus falleni, North Elmham, 14th August 2020

Psallus flavellus - None.  I identified this species in my garden in 2018.


Psallus haematodes - One at the meadows on 22nd August 2019 and one in the garden moth trap on 1st August 2020 - I've had 1-2 here before in 2016 and 2018.

Psallus haematodes, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 22nd August 2019

Psallus haematodes, North Elmham, 1st August 2020

Psallus perrisi - I identified 3 of these from my garden and 1 from the meadows in 2018 but haven't found any males since.  Some female perrisi/wagneri were found in 2020 - see under wagneri below.


Psallus varians - I had thought this was the commonest Psallus here in the past but in 2020 when I realised I'd been confused by the contradiction in my reference over Psallus falleni, I reviewed my previous records (only from photos as I didn't keep the specimens).  I think some of them are probably fine but several look like they may have been misidentified and so I'm now considering the latter unproven.  Anyway, I had identified 5 here (all to light) in 2019 but am now only leaving one of those records standing, that from 1st June.  I've also reviewed the 11 I had recorded here in 2018 and deleted 5 of those (but the other 6 look good).  Some of those I've deleted may well have been correctly identified but others were probably falleni.  Only one identified here in 2020, on 24th June, and I think I may have identified that one before realising the problem with falleni, so am excluding that one from the records too (it looks a bit doubtful from the photo).  The same applies to my first record from the meadows in 2020 but those on 27th May and 23rd June were processed after I was aware of the problem and I think these are fine (the latter was a male, gen detted).

Psallus varians, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 27th May 2020

Psallus varians, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 23rd June 2020 - showing aedeagus in second photo

Psallus wagneri - Female bugs at the meadows on 27th May (3) and 13th June 2020 were either this species or Psallus perrisi.  I did have a confirmed perrisi here in 2018 but the only fully identified record of this duo from the meadows in 2020 was my first confimred male wagneri, on Broom (under Oak) on 1st June.

Psallus wagneri, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 1st June 2020 - showing slightly different orientations of the aedeagus in second and third photos

Next page: Nabidae

A new bee on a rare flower

After a few quieter nights things picked up a bit on Saturday 8th June with 8 moths new for the year here: Hedge Case-bearer Coleophora striatipennella, 3 Large Fruit-tree Tortrixes Archips podana, Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, Small Fan-footed Wave, Barred Straw, Grey Pug, Common Footman and Pale-shouldered Brocade.

Hedge Case-bearer Coleophora striatipennella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 8th June

Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana, North Elmham, 8th June

Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, North Elmham, 8th June

Barred Straw, North Elmham, 8th June

Grey Pug (male, gen det), North Elmham, 8th June

Common Footman, North Elmham, 8th June

Pale-shouldered Brocade, North Elmham, 8th June

Other moths in the trap were Yellow-triangle Slender Caloptilia alchimiella, Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, Brindled Flat-body Agonopterix arenella, 2 London Dowds Blastobasis lacticolella, 2 Light Brown Apple Moths Epiphyas postvittana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 5 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Plum Tortrix Hedya pruniana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella, Hook-streaked Grass-Veneer Crambus lathoniellus, Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis, 6 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, False Cacao Moth Ephestia unicolorella, 2 Common Swifts, 3 Silver-ground Carpets, Common Marbled Carpet, Green Carpet, 3 Common Pugs, Brimstone Moth, 5 Willow Beauties, 2 Buff Ermines, Heart and Dart, Flame, 8 Ingrailed Clays, Bright-line Brown-eye, 6 Brown Rustics, Clouded-bordered Brindle, Marbled Minor, 2 Middle-barred Minors, Marbled White Spot, 16 Straw Dots, 4 Snouts and Small Fan-foot.

Also new for the year here was the brown lacewing Hemerobius humulinus.

Hemerobius humulinus, North Elmham, 8th June

I initially thought a reddish orange bug was going to be Phylus palliceps, a species I've trapped here before, but the black head makes it Phylus melanocephalus - a completely new species for me.

Phylus melanocephalus, North Elmham, 8th June

Also in the trap were the caddisfly Hydropsyche siltalai and the soldier beetle Cantharis rufa.

Cantharis rufa, North Elmham, 8th June

Next day I popped in to the patch where Norfolk's only Crested Cow-wheat was flowering.  I think this bee feeding on it was my first Vestal Cuckoo Bee Bombus vestalis but I'm not 100% sure I can rule out Gypsy Cuckoo Bee Bombus bohemicus (which would also be new for me).  Please let me know if you confirm either way.

Crested Cow-wheat, Rawhall Wood, 9th June

probable Vestal Cuckoo Bee Bombus vestalis on (and off) Crested Cow-wheat, Rawhall Wood, 9th June

Also 4 Swollen-thighed Beetles here along with Speckled Wood and Azure Damselfly.

Moths at Ryburgh included White-barred Gold Micropterix aruncella, 4 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana, 2 Silver-ground Carpets, Yellow Shell and Sharp-angled Carpet.

White-barred Gold Micropterix aruncella, Ryburgh, 9th June

Butterflies included Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Large Skipper while dragonflies were represented by Banded Demoiselle, Blue-tailed Damselfly and Common Blue Damselfly.