On Monday 19th June I considered having a wander round Beetley Common, just 5 minutes away and good for insects last time I was there. But there had been a Lesser Emperor at Selbrigg Pond for a few days and it was reported as still being there, and I've never seen a Lesser Emperor in the UK, so I thought I'd head there instead. That proved to be a very unfortunate decision! There were a few dragonflies on view including normal
Emperors and
Red-eyed Damselflies, but I couldn't find the Lesser Emperor. A couple sitting by the pond said there had been people there watching it who left just before I arrived, and I someone who must have arrived just after I left tweeted that it was still there shortly afterwards, so it seems that I was very unlucky. To make matters worse Kevin du Rose visited Beetley Common while I was at Selbrigg and found, guess what - a Lesser Emperor!
The lady sitting by the pond found this caterpillar which she wanted me to identify. I'm rubbish at caterpillars and couldn't help, but having now looked it up I think it's an
Oak Beauty.
Oak Beauty, Selbrigg Pond, 19th June
I made up for the disappointment with Lesser Emperor when it came to checking the moths I caught overnight. Among them was a smart streaky grey gelechiid which looked interesting. It looked like an
Anarsia species, but not
Anarsia spartiella, the one I've seen before - it was too streaky. It looked more like Peach Twig Borer
Anarsia lineatella, a species only recorded in Norfolk once before and usually found among imported peaches. Well this wasn't among imported peaches and I wasn't convinced it was this species, but on first look I couldn't find any similar species - certainly not on the Norfolk Moths website anyway, nor the UK Moths website. My next stop was Lepiforum where I discovered a species called
Anarsia innoxiella, very similar to Peach Twig Borer. Helpfully Lepiforum has an image detailing the differences between the two species and sure enough my moth was spot on for
Anarsia innoxiella! I then checked back on Norfolk Moths, UK Moths and some other British moth websites and couldn't find
innoxiella mentioned anywhere... surely I hadn't found a first for Britain? Next stop was Google and that led me to the Gelechiid Recording Scheme and there on its news page was the information that
Anarsia innoxiella had been split from Peach Twig Borer only as recently as March 2017. It stated that, "Initial examination of recently light-trapped British material, which were thought to be
A. lineatella, suggest many could well be referable to the new species,
Anarsia innoxiella." Hmm, "could well be"? Does that mean
innoxiella hasn't actually been confirmed yet? Are they waiting for a specimen? Could mine be the first confirmed British record? Well no, for elsewhere on the same website I found a page for the species which clarified that there have indeed been confirmed records and that "Early indications are that it is well established in south-east England
but should be considered at best local in its distribution." So certainly not new to the UK but maybe to Norfolk? None on the Norfolk Moths website so it was looking hopeful that I might at least have found a first for Norfolk. Well sadly it turns out that it wasn't even that - not quite - for Andy Wallis had trapped one just three nights earlier. I'd been pipped to the post - and not for the first time (a very similar thing happened with my first Italian Tubic
Metalampra italica). Still, a very nice find, second for Norfolk, first for VC28 and of course a new moth for me.
Anarsia innoxiella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 19th June
Among the rest of the catch several species were new for the year including two I have rarely seen before (both on just single occasions here before) -
Thistle Ermine Myelois circumvoluta and
Haworth's Pug.
Thistle Ermine Myelois circumvoluta, North Elmham, 19th June
Others new for the year here were Plain Conch
Phtheochroa inopiana, 2 Flax Tortrixes
Cnephasia asseclana, Pale Water-veneer
Donacaula forficella,
Leopard Moth,
Peach Blossom,
July Highflyer and
Poplar Grey.
Plain Conch Phtheochroa inopiana, North Elmham, 19th June
Peach Blossom, North Elmham, 19th June
Poplar Grey, North Elmham, 19th June
Viburnum Button
Acleris schalleriana was my third record and first outside of January/February.
Viburnum Button Acleris schalleriana (male, gen det), North Elmham, 19th June
Satyr Pug was also my third, and for the third time its identity wasn't realised until after it had died. Here it is with the Haworth's Pug and a
Grey Pug also caught that night - I suppose I shouldn't beat myself up too much for not realising I had all three species straight away...
Satyr Pug (female, gen det), North Elmham, 19th June
Haworth's Pug (female, gen det), North Elmham, 19th June
Grey Pug (female, gen det), North Elmham, 19th June
The other moths caught were Bird-cherry Ermine
Yponomeuta evonymella, Osier Case-bearer
Coleophora lusciniaepennella, 2 Woundwort Case-bearers
Coleophora lineolea, Buff Rush Case-bearer
Coleophora caespititiella, 3 Burdock Nebs
Metzneria lappella, Hawthorn Cosmet
Blastodacna hellerella, Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix
Pandemis cerasana, 11 Large Fruit-tree Tortrixes
Archips podana, 4 Privet Tortrixes
Clepsis consimilana, 2 Light Brown Apple Moths
Epiphyas postvittana, 2 Large Ivy Tortrixes
Lozotaenia forsterana, 2 Grey Tortrixes
Cnephasia stephensiana, Light Grey Tortrix
Cnephasia incertana, 4 Barred Marbles
Celypha striana, 13 Common Marbles
Celypha lacunana, Marbled Orchard Tortrix
Hedya nubiferana, Blotched Marble
Endothenia quadrimaculana, 2 Triangle-marked Rollers
Ancylis achatana, Common Cloaked Shoot
Gypsonoma dealbana, 3 Triple-blotched Bells
Notocelia trimaculana, 2 Hoary Bells
Eucosma cana, Red Piercer
Lathronympha strigana, 10 Garden Grass-veneers
Chrysoteuchia culmella, Grass-veneer
Crambus pascuella, 5 Hook-streaked Grass-Veneers
Crambus lathoniellus, 8 Common Greys
Scoparia ambigualis, 2 Little Greys
Eudonia lacustrata, 3 Small Magpies
Anania hortulata, Elder Pearl
Anania coronata, Fenland Pearl
Anania perlucidalis, 3 Bee Moths
Aphomia sociella,
Buff Arches, 2 Common Emeralds, Dwarf Cream Wave, 2 Single-dotted Waves, 4 Treble Brown Spots, 8 Riband Waves, Common Carpet,
6 Barred Straws, 4 Common Pugs,
Grey Pug, Clouded Border, Brimstone Moth,
Peppered Moth, Willow Beauty, Mottled Beauty, Common Wave, Clouded Silver,
Privet Hawk-moth,
Buff-tip, 3 Rosy Footmen, 2 Common Footmen, 9 Buff Ermines, 2 Cinnabars,
2 Short-cloaked Moths, 2 Heart and Darts, Flame Shoulder, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Double Square-spot,
Shears, Common Wainscot, Brown Rustic, Marbled Minor, 6 Middle-barred Minors, Treble Lines, 11 Uncertains, Mottled Rustic, Spectacle,
3 Beautiful Hook-tips, 20 Straw Dots, 3 Snouts and 2 Fan-foots.
Osier Case-bearer Coleophora lusciniaepennella (female, gen det), North Elmham, 19th June
Triangle-marked Roller Ancylis achatana, North Elmham, 19th June
Privet Hawk-moth, North Elmham, 19th June
Caddisflies were represented by 2
Ecnomus tenellus,
Mystacides longicornis and
Oecetis lacustris, and Mayflies by a Green Drake
Ephemera danica. There was another Fly Bug
Reduvius personatus in the trap along with two other bugs that were new for the year here:
Stenotus binotatus and the leafhopper
Oncopsis subangulata.
Stenotus binotatus, North Elmham, 19th June
Oncopsis subangulata, North Elmham, 19th June
