Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: smaller Black Arches, Silver-lines, Nycteoline and allies (Nolidae)

SMALLER BLACK ARCHES, SILVER-LINES, NYCTEOLINE and allies (NOLIDAE)


Kent Black Arches Meganola albula - One at Weybourne on 5th July 2019.  I've not recorded this species locally but that's not very surprising as it's predominantly coastal in Norfolk (although there are widespread inland records so it wouldn't be altogether surprising to catch one here).

Kent Black Arches, Weybourne, 5th July 2019

Short-cloaked Moth Nola cucullatella - Totals of 14 caught in my garden between 29th June and 17th July 2019 and 9 between 24th June and 11th July 2020.  2019 was my best year yet (average 9 a year).  4 on 8th July 2019 was my highest count so far and the one on 17th July my latest ever.  Elsewhere one at the meadows, one at Weybourne and 3 at Brancaster.

Short-cloaked Moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th July 2019

Least Black Arches Nola confusalis - Singles at home on 21st and 27th May 2020 but none here in 2019.  I don't get many here - 2-3 a year is typical (8 in 2016) but 2019 was my first blank year.  Elsewhere one at the meadows on 22nd April 2019, one on Mull on 13th June 2019 and one at Hills and Holes on 21st May 2020.

Least Black Arches, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 22nd April 2019

Least Black Arches, North Elmham, 27th May 2020

Scarce Silver-lines Bena bicolorana - None.  I caught 3 of these in my garden in July 2016 but haven't had any others in the 6 summers I've lived here.


Green Silver-lines Pseudoips prasinana - One caught in the garden on 23rd June 2019.  Hard to beat these - if you press me to tell you my favourite moth I may well give you this as my answer.  I don't get many here - none in 2018 or 2020 and only 9 here in 5 years.

Green Silver-lines, North Elmham, 23rd June 2019

Oak Nycteoline Nycteola revayana - One trapped in the garden on 24th July 2019 was only my 3rd record here.  Also found at the Cathedral Meadows on 22nd April and 26th July 2019 and my only record in 2020 was one at Cranwich Heath on 14th March.

Oak Nycteoline, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 22nd April 2019

Oak Nycteoline, North Elmham, 24th July 2019

Oak Nycteoline, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 26th July 2019

Oak Nycteoline, Cranwich Heath, 14th March 2020

Cream-bordered Green Pea Earias clorana - One in the garden trap on 31st July 2020 but 2019 was my first blank year here (though I never see more than 3 a year here).  Elsewehere one at the meadows on 25th May 2019 and 18th July 2020, one at Weybourne on 5th July 2019, one at Hellesdon on 14th July 2019 and one at Hills and Holes on 21st May 2020 (my earliest ever). 

Cream-bordered Green Pea, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 25th May 2019

Cream-bordered Green Pea, Hills and Holes, 21st May 2020

Cream-bordered Green Pea, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 18th July 2020

Coleophora trifolii (Large Clover Case-bearer) next door

At lunch on 6th July I went to Courtyard Farm at Ringstead where highlights were Corn Bunting, Black-and-yellow Longhorn Beetle, 2 Yellow-spot Tortrixes Pseudargyrotoza conwagana and Painted Lady butterfly.

Nearly 200 moths of 76 species at home that night, the highlight being one of 3 Peppered Moths, a melanic individual of the form carbonaria.  I've seen a few dark examples but rarely one so solidly blackish as this.

Peppered Moth (f. carbonaria), North Elmham, 6th July

A tatty Brown Scallop and 2 Four-dotted Footmen were also good, both species commoner in the Brecks than elsewhere.

Brown Scallop, North Elmham, 6th July

Others new for the year were Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella, 2 Common Cloaked Shoots Gypsonoma dealbana, Bud Moth Spilonota ocellana, Beautiful China-mark Nymphula nitidulata and Brown-line Bright-eye.

Bud Moth Spilonota ocellana, North Elmham, 6th July

Other macros were Buff Arches, 3 Common Emeralds, Small Emerald, 2 Small Fan-footed Waves, 2 Dwarf Cream Waves, Single-dotted Wave, Treble Brown Spot, 7 Riband Waves, Garden Carpet, Yellow Shell, 5 Barred Straws, Sandy Carpet, Foxglove Pug, Grey Pug, 3 Green Pugs, 2 Clouded Borders, 4 Willow Beauties, 3 Mottled Beauties, 2 Common White Waves, 8 Clouded Silvers, 2 Elephant Hawkmoths, Marbled Brown, Buff-tip, 2 Common Footmen, Cinnabar, Turnip Moth, 2 Flames, Flame Shoulder, Setaceous Hebrew Character, 3 Double Square-spots, 2 Dot Moths, 5 Brown Rustics, 3 Dark Arches, Light Arches, 14 Uncertains, Green Silver-lines, 2 Burnished Brasses, Beautiful Golden Y, Beautiful Hook-tip, 7 Snouts and 8 Fan-foots.

My best count yet of False Cacao Moths Ephestia unicolorella (8) headlined the other micros, the rest of which were Case-bearing Clothes Moth Tinea pellionella, Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, 2 Grey Rush Case-bearers Coleophora glaucicolella, Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, White-shouldered House Moth Endrosis sarcitrella, Cinereous Groundling Bryotropha terrella, Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis cerasana, 5 Large Fruit-tree Tortrixes Archips podana, Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, 3 Large Ivy Tortrixes Lozotaenia forsterana, Flax Tortrix Cnephasia asseclana, 2 Light Grey Tortrixes Cnephasia incertana, Yellow Oak Button Aleimma loeflingiana, 4 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 9 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Pine Marble Piniphila bifasciana, 6 Marbled Orchard Tortrixes Hedya nubiferana, 2 Hoary Bells Eucosma cana, 9 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Grass-veneer Crambus pascuella, Meadow Grey Scoparia pyralella, 6 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, 4 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Elder Pearl Anania coronata, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella and Ermine Knot-horn Phycitodes binaevella.

Caddisflies included my first Goera pilosa, along with Ecnomus tenellus, probable Polycentropus flavomaculatus, 3 Hydropsyche siltalai, Limnephilus flavicornis and 2 Limnephilus lunatus.  Also 4 Summer Chafers and the Mayfly Serratella ignita.

Goera pilosa, North Elmham, 6th July

My next door neighbours have a large garden (which I benefit from as we overlook it) and asked me if I could show their 9 year old grandson some moths.  Rather than have him get up at the crack of dawn to go through my moth trap I set a different trap in their garden and popped round at a more civilised time to have a look through it with them.

The Privet Hawkmoth and Eyed Hawkmoth created the biggest wows but the lad made a friend with a Buff Ermine too, and much amusement was found in the fact that there was a moth called Uncertain.  I didn't keep count of everything in the trap as that wasn't the point but from what I could remember when I got back the following were also trapped: Common Groundling Teleiodes vulgella, Orange Crest Helcystogramma rufescens, 2 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrixes Pandemis cerasana, Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana, 2 Cnephasia sp., 6 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Marbled Orchard Tortrix Hedya nubiferana, 6 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 2 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, 2 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, False Cacao Moth Ephestia unicolorella, Beautiful Plume Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, Drinker, Single-dotted Wave, 2 Riband Waves, 2 Clouded Borders, Scorched Wing, Brimstone Moth, Swallow-tailed Moth, 2 Willow Beauties, 2 Clouded Silvers, White Ermine, Short-cloaked Moth, Heart and Dart, 10 Double Square-spots, Middle-barred Minor, 10 Uncertains, Rustic, 2 Mottled Rustics, 2 Burnished Brasses, Beautiful Hook-tip, 2 Snouts and Dotted Fan-foot.

Drinker, North Elmham, 6th July

Dotted Fan-foot, North Elmham, 6th July

Short-cloaked Moth, North Elmham, 6th July

The best moth from my perspective was lurking on the side of the trap and at first I thought it was going to be a Small Clover Case-bearer Coleophora alcyonipennella, and took it home with me to check.  It was only after I got home that it dawned on me how big it was.  I measured it - yep, this was no Small anything.  Surely this had to be a Large Clover Case-bearer Coleophora trifolii!  It had to be on size but I dissected it just to make sure and so it proved - an unexpected lifer for me!

Large Clover Case-bearer Coleophora trifolii (male, gen det), North Elmham, 6th July

There was one more lifer in the trap for me too - the green Lacewing Dichochrysa ventralis.

Dichochrysa ventralis, North Elmham, 6th July

Nationally Scarce A in the garden

When I got back from Hilgay Fen it was nearly time to go through my moth trap at home.  This contained an excellent moth, the "Nationally Scarce A" Eastern Case-bearer Coleophora vestianella.  In Norfolk the first record was in the Brecks in 1933 and it wasn't recorded again until 2012 since when there have been 5 records in west Norfolk.  Not yet recorded in VC27 (east Norfolk), the border of which is very close to here.

Eastern Case-bearer Coleophora vestianella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 4th July

New for the year here were 2 Woundwort Case-bearers Coleophora lineolea, White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella, Shaded Broad-bar and 3 Short-cloaked Moths.

Woundwort Case-bearer Coleophora lineolea (male, gen det), North Elmham, 4th July

White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella, North Elmham, 4th July

Shaded Broad-bar, North Elmham, 4th July

Short-cloaked Moth, North Elmham, 4th July

The other macros were Common Emerald, Small Blood-vein, Small Fan-footed Wave, 4 Dwarf Cream Waves, 5 Single-dotted Waves, 2 Treble Brown Spots, 23 Riband Waves, Yellow Shell, 7 Barred Straws, 2 Barred Yellows, 2 Sandy Carpets, 3 Common Pugs, Scorched Wing, Brimstone Moth, 4 Willow Beauties, Mottled Beauty, 2 Common White Waves, Common Wave, 2 Clouded Silvers, Elephant Hawkmoth, Small Elephant Hawkmoth, Marbled Brown, 5 Buff-tips, 4 Rosy Footmen, 6 Common Footmen, 19 Buff Ermines, 2 Cinnabars, 2 Heart and Clubs, 5 Heart and Darts, 3 Flames, 2 Flame Shoulders, 3 Large Yellow Underwings, 13 Double Square-spots, Dot Moth, 2 Lychnis, 2 Brown-line Bright-eyes, Clay, Common Wainscot, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, 6 Brown Rustics, 2 Dark Arches, 2 Middle-barred Minors, Treble Lines, 20 Uncertains, Rustic, 5 Mottled Rustics, 6 Burnished Brasses, Spectacle, 8 Beautiful Hook-tips, 6 Straw Dots, 3 Snouts and 4 Fan-foots.

Single-dotted Wave, North Elmham, 4th July - a strongly-marked example

Small Elephant Hawkmoth, North Elmham, 4th July

Among the micros another Powdered Knot-horn Delplanqueia dilutella was notable:

Powdered Knot-horn Delplanqueia dilutella, North Elmham, 4th July

The rest were Barred White Clothes Moth Nemapogon clematella, Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella, 2 Meadow Case-bearers Coleophora mayrella, Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis, 3 Cinereous Groundlings Bryotropha terrella, 2 Hook-marked Straw Moths Agapeta hamana, Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis cerasana, 2 Large Fruit-tree Tortrices Archips podana, 2 Privet Tortrices Clepsis consimilana, 5 Large Ivy Tortrices Lozotaenia forsterana, 2 Red-barred Tortrices Ditula angustiorana, Flax Tortrix Cnephasia asseclana, 7 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 7 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 4 Marbled Orchard Tortrices Hedya nubiferana, Triangle-marked Roller Ancylis achatana, Common Cloaked Shoot Gypsonoma dealbana, 2 Triple-blotched Bells Notocelia trimaculana, Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, 35 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Grass-veneers Crambus pascuella, Yellow Satin Veneer Crambus perlella, Chequered Grass-veneer Catoptria falsella, 9 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 3 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, Small Grey Eudonia mercurella, 8 Small Magpies Eurrhypara hortulata, 2 Elder Pearls Anania coronata, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, 3 Bee Moths Aphomia sociella, White Plume Pterophorus pentadactyla and 2 Common Plumes Emmelina monodactyla.

Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, North Elmham, 4th July