Description


A diary of my mothing activity covering highlights and photos from my moth trapping activities. Mainly Norfolk (UK), occasionally beyond. I may mention other wildlife sightings here, especially insects, but for birds see my birding diary.

Sunday, 12 June 2016

Buff-tip new for the year, a new Caddis and a Lacehopper

Still on last Saturday, following previous posts covering Titchwell, Dersingham Bog and Babingley River and Roydon Common, there was a selection of moths in the home trap that night too.  Not as many as there should be in June though - 29 species really isn't a great total for this time of year.  New for the year were Lime-speck Pug, Pale Oak Beauty, Buff-tip and 2 Setaceous Hebrew Characters.

Buff-tip, North Elmham, 4th June


The others were 19 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, Many-plumed Moth Alucita hexadactyla, Hook-streaked Grass-Veneer Crambus lathoniellus, Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea, 3 Common Swifts, 2 Silver-ground Carpets, Garden Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, 2 Green Carpets, Foxglove Pug, 3 Common Pugs, Brimstone Moth, 2 Peppered Moths, Poplar Hawkmoth, Iron Prominent, 2 White Ermines, Buff Ermine, Flame, Small Square-spot, Bright-line Brown-eye, Rustic Shoulder-knot, Clouded-bordered Brindle, Marbled Minor, 12 Treble Lines and 2 Vine's Rustics.

Marbled Minor (male, gen det), North Elmham, 4th June


Caddisflies included my first identified Limnephilus vittatus and a Glyphotaelius pellucidus.

Limnephilus vittatus, North Elmham, 4th June


Sunday night was very similar - 29 species again.  Only 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, Common Carpet and Turnip Moth were new for the year for the house.  One of the ambigualis was quite strongly marked and had a lot of brown infilling in the wing-markings - I'd have been tempted to put it down as a Meadow Grey Scoparia pyralella had I not dissected it.

Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis (male, gen det), North Elmham, 5th June


Others were 2 Hawthorn Slenders Parornix anglicella, 30 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, Hook-streaked Grass-Veneer Crambus lathoniellus, Garden Pebble Evergestis forficalis, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, 2 Common Swifts, 2 Green Carpets, Mottled Pug, Lime-speck Pug, 2 Common Pugs, Clouded Border, Scalloped Hazel, Pale Oak Beauty, 4 White Ermines, 3 Buff Ermines, Cinnabar, 2 Small Square-spots, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Shears, Bright-line Brown-eye, Lychnis, Rustic Shoulder-knot, Tawny Marbled Minor and 8 Treble Lines.

Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 5th June


Lime-speck Pug, North Elmham, 5th June


Pale Oak Beauty, North Elmham, 5th June


On Monday I spent my lunchbreak at Syderstone Common where I found another White-barred Gold Micropterix aruncella (following my first ever on Saturday), 5 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, 12 Grey Gorse Piercers Cydia ulicetana and Cinnabar.  Also this larval case which is apaprently not identifable between Common Oak Case-bearer Coleophora lutipennella and Tipped Oak Case-bearer Coleophora flavipennella.  Can't help noticing that all the images I can find of lutipennella look like this while all the flavipennella look darker, but they aren't supposed to be do-able without breeding them through and then dissecting the moth, so presumably the images I've seen don't represent the full range of variation.

White-barred Gold Micropterix aruncella, Syderstone Common, 6th June


Common/Tipped Oak Case-bearer Coleophora lutipennella/flavipennella, Syderstone Common, 6th June


I'm pretty sure this weevil is an Acorn Weevil Curculio glandium, although other Curculio species are very similar.  I think the shape of the antennal clubs and body pattern in combination clinch the ID, but I'm not clear if that's entirely reliable or not.

apparent Acorn Weevil Curculio glandium, Syderstone Common, 6th June


I was more interested to find this Lacehopper, my first Lacehopper, Tachycixius pilosus.

Tachycixius pilosus, Syderstone Common, 6th June

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