A new bug and several new moths and bugs for the year

I think of Ashy Button Acleris sparsana as being a late autumn species so it was a surprise to find one in my moth trap on 16th August.  But although they peak in October it's actually quite normal for the first ones to fly in August.  It was my earliest though, albeit only by a week or so.

Ashy Button Acleris sparsana, North Elmham, 16th August

Otherwise it wasn't a very eventful night with 63 moths of 24 species.  The others were Common Oak Pigmy Stigmella roborella, Red Hazel Midget Phyllonorycter nicellii, Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, 18 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 2 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneers Agriphila geniculea, 4 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, Mother of Pearl Pleuroptya ruralis, Beautiful Plume Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, Single-dotted Wave, Double-striped Pug, 3 Brimstone Moths, Canary-shouldered Thorn, Poplar Hawk-moth, 2 Swallow Prominents, 3 Flame Shoulders, 2 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, Six-striped Rustic, Common Rustic, 13 Flounced Rustics, Rosy Rustic and Straw Dot.

The following night was a bit better, with Figure of Eighty new for the year - my only one last year as it turned out (I average one a year here).

Figure of Eighty, North Elmham, 17th August

My third and final Butterbur of the year was good.  I had 3 in 2016 too but those 6 are the only ones I've ever seen anywhere.  Indeed they're a pretty scarce species in Norfolk - there was only one other record in 2016, three in total in 2017 and two others in 2018.  They are usually pretty obvious, not only because they're ginormous compared to the average Rosy Rustic, but the structure is different and the colour too.  I think there's also a slight difference in the curvature of the crossline too, but I haven't quite worked out how diagnostic that is.  But although size is usually pretty obvious, this is by no means a reliable means of identifying them.  I also caught a Rosy Rustic on this occasion, and it happened to be the largest Rosy Rustic I've ever seen.  In the photo below it appears to be even bigger than the Butterbur.  To be honest I don't think it was, quite (it's standing higher off the ground in the photo so is nearer the camera), but it was very very close.

Butterbur (top right) and Rosy Rustic (bottom left), North Elmham, 17th August

One of two Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana was the all-dark form f. caeruleaoatrana.  Quite a nice moth when fresh...

Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana (f. caeruleoatrana), North Elmham, 17th August

Other moths were Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella, Diamond-back Plutella xylostella, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 4 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 35 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 2 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneers Agriphila geniculea, Ringed China-mark Parapoynx stratiotata, 2 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, Ermine Knot-horn Phycitodes binaevella, 3 Common Plumes Emmelina monodactyla, Maiden's Blush, Blood-vein, 2 Single-dotted Waves, Lime-speck Pug, Tawny Speckled Pug, Double-striped Pug, 4 Brimstone Moths, Canary-shouldered Thorn, 2 Dusky Thorns, Flame Shoulder, 2 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, 2 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 3 Six-striped Rustics, 14 Flounced Rustics, 3 Straw Dots and Snout.

Mayflies and lacewings consisted of 2 Pond Olives Cloeon dipterum and Chrysopa commata respectively, and caddisflies were 2 Hydropsyche siltalai and Medium Sedge Goera pilosa.  2 Nicrophorus investigator and an Aphodius rufipes represented the beetles and there were 3 Hornets and a Common Frog.

The following night saw an improvement with 5 new moths for the year.  One of these was a Pale Thistle Case-bearer Coleophora peribenanderi, my first for a couple of years.

Pale Thistle Case-bearer Coleophora peribenanderi (male, gen det), North Elmham, 18th August

I've seen rather more Birch Marbles Apotomis betuletana, but not at home - this was my first trapped at home since 2015.

Birch Marble Apotomis betuletana, North Elmham, 18th August

2 Square-spot Rustics, Centre-barred Sallow and Frosted Orange were also new species for the year.

Square-spot Rustic, North Elmham, 18th August

Centre-barred Sallow, North Elmham, 18th August

Frosted Orange, North Elmham, 18th August

Other moths were Carrion Moth Monopis weaverella, Bird’s-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, Dark Neb Bryotropha affinis, Dingy Dowd Blastobasis adustella, Light Brown Apple-moth Epiphyas postvittana, Dark-triangle Button Acleris laterana, 2 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 5 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana, 46 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 4 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneers Agriphila geniculea, Ringed China-mark Parapoynx stratiotata, 2 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, Pale Straw Pearl Udea lutealis, 2 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, Grey Knot-horn Acrobasis advenella, 2 Common Plumes Emmelina monodactyla, Orange Swift, Maiden's Blush, Single-dotted Wave, Garden Carpet, Common Carpet, Lime-speck Pug, Double-striped Pug, 4 Brimstone Moths, Canary-shouldered Thorn, 2 Dusky Thorns, Rosy Footman, Flame Shoulder, 2 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, Small Square-spot, Setaceous Hebrew Character, 12 Flounced Rustics and 3 Straw Dots.

A Green Drake Ephemera danica was the only mayfly. Among the green lacewings, Chrysopa perla was new for the garden.  It's a very common species that I've recorded up the road at the meadows before, but apparently it's a species that doesn't turn up in gardens all that often.  Other lacewings were Chrysopa commata, Chrysoperla carnea, 2 Hemerobius lutescens and Micromus variegatus.

Chrysopa perla, North Elmham, 18th August

There was a selection of caddisflies: Cyrnus flavidus, Polycentropus flavomaculatus, 2 Hydropsyche pellucidula, Hydropsyche siltalai and Limnephilus marmoratus.  Beetles were 4 Bradycellus verbasci, a Nicrophorus investigator and another Curculio venosus.

It was a good night for bugs too, with one completely new species and two new for the year.  I've seen several of the Psallus species in the garden but they can be pretty tricky to identify.  This one keyed out to either Psallus flavellus or Psallus lepidus, either of which would be new to me, but I wasn't entirely confident I had adequately eliminated all of the other species, especially falleni (which, as it flies later than others was really quite a likely contender from the start).  The only way to resolve it was to check its genitalia, and this placed it as Psallus flavellus.

Psallus flavellus (male, gen det), North Elmham, 18th August

The two other bugs that were new for the year were the striking Campyloneura virgula and Neolygus contaminatus.  Other bugs were Birch Shieldbug, 5 Forest Bugs, 2 Tarnished Plant Bugs Lygus rugulipennis and the leafhopper Empoasca vitis. 

Campyloneura virgula, North Elmham, 18th August

Neolygus contaminatus, North Elmham, 18th August