And then it all happened...

Mothing at home this year has been fairly uneventful with no new moths for the house until Thursday night.  Recently numbers have picked up but variety has remained low - even new moths for the year have been hard to come by.  Then Thursday night happened.

The clear highlight was a Grey Pine Ermel Ocnerostoma friesei - a tiny grey moth that isn't much to look at but is a great record, and my first.  There are just five previous Norfolk records, all from 2011 and 2014 and all from one observer and one location (Dersingham).

Grey Pine Ermel Ocnerostoma friesei (male, gen det), North Elmham, 30th March

Another good moth was Scarce Alder Slender Caloptilia falconipennella - my second ever (excluding the one I mentioned in my last blog post - I don't count moths if they're brought to me) and first for my garden.

Scarce Alder Slender Caloptilia falconipennella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 30th March

In the same genus and also new for the year and one I've not seen many times before was White-triangle Slender Caloptilia stigmatella.

White-triangle Slender Caloptilia stigmatella, North Elmham, 30th March

Another one I've not often seen and hadn't caught here since 2015 was Pale Pinion.

Pale Pinion, North Elmham, 30th March

I also missed Water Carpet at home last year, although I see plenty of them elsewhere.  Good to get it on the garden year list.

Water Carpet, North Elmham, 30th March

I always enjoy my first Purple Thorn of the year.  The photos taken using flash (first two) showed the warmth of the colours well but I noticed they didn't show the white lunar marks as clearly as they looked in life (especially on the upper hindwing), so I took a couple of photos without using flash too (bottom two).

Purple Thorn, North Elmham, 30th March

Everyone loves a Streamer - another new species for the year.

Streamer, North Elmham, 30th March

More routine new species for the year were Many-plumed Moth Alucita hexadactyla and Double-striped Pug.

Many-plumed Moth Alcuita hexadactyla, North Elmham, 30th March

Double-striped Pug, North Elmham, 30th March

Other moths in the trap were 2 Common Flat-bodies Agonopterix heracliana, 2 Common Plumes Emmelina monodactyla, Brindled Pug, 3 Early Thorns, 4 Small Quakers, 5 Common Quakers, 9 Clouded Drabs, 9 Hebrew Characters and 4 Early Greys.  Also 3 Black Sexton Beetles, what looked like another Ophion scutellaris (Ichneumon) and 3 Green Lacewings (my first here this year) at least one and probably all 3 of which were Chrysoperla carnea.

Friday night was back to more or less normal with a few moths of mainly the same species as normal, although Brindled Beauty was a nice addition to the garden year list.

Brindled Beauty, North Elmham, 31st March

The others were Water Carpet, 2 Early Thorns, Small Quaker, 3 Clouded Drabs, 9 Hebrew Characters and 2 Early Greys. Also a couple of Black Sexton Beetles.