Eucosma campoliliana

A rather attractive but unfamiliar moth appeared in my trap on the night of 12th June - my first Marbled Bell Eucosma campoliliana.

Marbled Bell Eucosma campoliliana, North Elmham, 12th June

Three macros that were new for the year here were all lookers too: Small Elephant Hawkmoth, Poplar Kitten and Beautiful Golden Y.  Not quite so pretty was the Cream Wave, new for the house.

Poplar Kitten, North Elmham, 12th June

Small Elephant Hawkmoth, North Elmham, 12th June

Beautiful Golden Y, North Elmham, 12th June

Cream Wave, North Elmham, 12th June

Numbers of Diamond-backs had dropped right off but there was another surge this night: I caught 124 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, comparable numbers to what I trapped around the peak around 31st May/1st June.

A good selection of other moths: Garden Cosmet Mompha subbistrigella, Hook-marked Straw Moth Agapeta hamana, 2 Light Brown Apple Moths Epiphyas postvittana, 2 Yellow-spot Tortrices Pseudargyrotoza conwagana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, Yellow-faced Bell Notocelia cynosbatella, Many-plumed Moth Alucita hexadactyla, 4 Hook-streaked Grass-Veneers Crambus lathoniellus, 3 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, 2 Bee Moths Aphomia sociella, 5 Common Swifts, 3 Blood-veins, 3 Silver-ground Carpets, Common Carpet, Purple Bar, 2 Green Carpets, Foxglove Pug, Common Pug, Clouded Border, Brown Silver-line, Common White Wave, 2 Light Emeralds, Poplar Hawkmoth, Swallow Prominent, Common Footman, 5 White Ermines, Cinnabar, 2 Heart and Darts, Shears, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, Rustic Shoulder-knot, 3 Brown Rustics, 4 Middle-barred Minors, 14 Treble Lines, Mottled Rustic, 2 Burnished Brasses, Spectacle and 4 Straw Dots.

I'm finding Mayfly identification a bit of a struggle even armed with the guide - so many don't show all the features given while other probably better features (like wing venation) aren't clearly enough described in the key to be of any use (for example how much of the wing is the "tip" when counting cross-veins?).  The relative length of foot segments should help differentiate Procloeon from various Cloeon species but I find this hard to judge on some individuals.  I think that at least one of 2 Mayflies recorded this night was Pale Evening Dun Procloeon bifidum but the other I had to leave unidentified.

Pale Evening Dun Procloeon bifidum, North Elmham, 12th June

In contrast I find the guide to caddisflies excellent and very helpfully designed with features described and illustrated.  Some are still difficult though, and the genitalia don't always appear exactly as in the diagrams.  Nevertheless I am fairly happy with 2 new caddisflies identified from the trap: Rhyacophila dorsalis and Polycentropus flavomaculatus. There were also 3 Hydropsyche pellucidula, 4 Limnephilus auricula, Limnephilus flavicornis and 2 Limnephilus lunatus.

Polycentropus flavonmaculatus, North Elmham, 12th June

Rhyacophila dorsalis, North Elmham, 12th June