A few interesting insects at the meadows

Southern Hawker, 2 Speckled Woods, Field Grasshopper, Hornet and Common Carder Bee were among the insects seen at the meadows on the afternoon of 1st September.  There was also a new froghopper for me, Neophilaenus lineatus.

Neophilaenus lineatus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 1st September

Shaking ash keys produced a few more including Common Green Capsid Lygocoris pabulinus, a Common Green Shieldbug, a 7-spot Ladybird, a small black ichneumid that is probably Gelis agilis and 5 Common Earwigs (including a juvenile which I retained in the hope that I could string it into one of the smaller earwig species - I failed but it was interesting to see it had moulted into an adult by the following day).

Common Green Capsid Lygocoris pabulinus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 1st September

Common Green Shieldbug, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 1st September

probable Gelis agilis, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 1st September

Common Earwig, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 1st-2nd September (before and after moult)

A quick sweep of some Broom also produced a few bits and pieces including another spider that I think was Xysticus cristatus (another presumed immature female) and two new bugs for me, Orthotylus concolor, and Broom Psyllid Arytaina genistae.  The latter was to prove very common here, with lots more records over the following months.

Orthotylus concolor, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 1st September

Broom Psyllid Arytaina genistae, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 1st September

I remainded out until it got dark and most of the following moths were found in torchlight: 2 White-headed Ermines Paraswammerdamia albicapitella, 7 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Blood-vein, Green Carpet, Double-striped Pug, 3 Brimstone Moths, 6 Square-spot Rustics, Angle Shades and 4 Snouts.

 That night an Old Lady was the best moth at home, the only one I recorded last year (and there were none the year before).  Other moths were Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, 2 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 2 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, 2 Blood-veins, Single-dotted Wave, Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet, 2 Yellow Shells, Light Emerald, 2 Large Yellow Underwings, 4 Lesser Yellow Underwings, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Square-spot Rustic, Common Wainscot, 2 Flounced Rustics and 2 Frosted Oranges.

Old Lady, North Elmham, 1st September

Caddisflies consisted of 2 Hydropsyche pellucidula, 2 Small Silver Sedges Lepidostoma hirtum, 2 Limnephilus auricula, 8 Limnephilus lunatus and Limnephilus marmoratus. Other things included the brown lacewing Hemerobius lutescens, the bug Phytocoris tiliae, the beetle Aphodius rufipes, a Hornet and a Common Frog.

Phytocoris tiliae, North Elmham, 1st September

The following night the garden moth trap produced Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana, Common Grass-veneer Agriphila tristella, 2 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneers Agriphila geniculea, Garden Pebble Evergestis forficalis, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, Chinese Character, Green Carpet, Large Yellow Underwing, 6 Lesser Yellow Underwings, 4 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 3 Square-spot Rustics, Common Wainscot, Centre-barred Sallow, 4 Flounced Rustics and 2 Straw Dots. Also the mayfly Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum, 3 caddisflies, all Limnephilus lunatus and a Hornet.

A walk round the meadows on 3rd didn't end up with many records but some good ones.  A Maple Midget Phyllonorycter acerifoliella was only my second record ever (though slightly disapppointing as I was sure it was my first having completely forgotten about one I apparently saw at Creaking Gate Lake in 2013!).

Maple Midget Phyllonorycter acerifoliella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd September

More unexpected were a number of other small white moths seen in flight.  I netted four of them, from two different meadows, and all four were Poplar Bent-wings Phyllocnistis unipunctella.  It's a species I don't see very often (have only ever seen three times) and I wouldn't expect to see such numbers away from poplars.  Well in fact there is a stand of poplars about 300m away from the north-east corner of the meadows, about 400m away from the furthest of these moths, so this is presumably where they had all come from.

Poplar Bent-wings Phyllocnistis unipunctella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd September

There was a Mottled Grasshopper calling, the only record I had of this species at the meadows last year (though I didn't search for grasshoppers very rigorously).  There were 2 Chrysoperla carnea (green lacewings) and 2 Valenzuela flavidus (barkflies) on sycamore keys, Lygus pratensis (a mirid bug) and Harlequin Ladybird in ash keys, and a female Edwardsiana leafhopper (most likely Edwardsiana rosae) at some cherry.  Also a Muntjac across the river.