Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Noctuids (Noctuidae) part 1: Plusias to Nut-tree Tussock

NOCTUIDS (NOCTUIDAE)


Spectacle Abrostola tripartita - Totals of 17 trapped here between 30th May and 29th August 2019 and 34 between 30th May and 22nd August 2020.  2019 was my worst year here since moving in (average 43 a year).  Elsewhere 4 at the meadows (from 25th May), one at Bintree Wood and 2 at Hellesdon.

Spectacle, North Elmham, 11th July 2020

Spectacle, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 18th July 2020

Dark Spectacle Abrostola triplasia - One in the garden moth trap on 14th June 2020.  This was my 7th here since moving in in 2014 and 2019 was my first blank year.

Dark Spectacle, North Elmham, 14th June 2020

Dewick's Plusia Macdunnoughia confusa - None.  I've never trapped this species but it's becoming so well established in Norfolk, including in parts of mid Norfolk, that it surely can't be long before it arrives here.


Burnished Brass Diachrysia chrysitis - Totals of 36 caught here between 18th June and 30th September 2019 and 19 between 21st May (my earliest ever) and 20th September 2020. The 2020 total was my worst in 6 years and both years were well below the average annual tally of 60.  Elsewhere 5 at the meadows, one at Whitwell Street and one at Hellesdon.

Burnished Brass, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th July 2019

Burnished Brass, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 21st May 2020

Silver Y Autographa gamma - Totals of 17 trapped in the garden between 3rd June and 19th September 2019 and 25 between 2nd June and 26th September 2020.  My average annual tally here is 16 and 2020's total was my highest yet.  Elsewhere 5 at the meadows, one at Bintree Wood, one at Row Heath (West Runton), 2 on Mull and 4 in Cornwall.

Silver Y, North Elmham, 3rd June 2019

Silver Y, North Elmham, 6th August 2020

Beautiful Golden Y Autographa pulchrina - 5 caught at Carsaig (Mull) between 9th and 13th June 2019.  This species is quite irregular here - I caught one in 2015, 4 in 2016, none in 2017, one in 2018 and none again in 2019 or 2020.

Beautiful Golden Y, Carsaig (Mull), 9th June 2019

Beautiful Golden Y, Carsaig (Mull), 10th June 2019

Plain Golden Y Autographa pulchrina - None in 2019 but one in the garden moth trap on 4th July 2020.  I've only caught 3 of these at home before, in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

Plain Golden Y, North Elmham, 4th July 2020

Gold Spot Plusia festucae - One to LEDs at the meadows on 31st May 2019.  I've caught this species at home twice, in 2015 and 2016.  I've never seen Lenpke's Gold Spot, though I have seen a couple of individuals that experienced moth recorders assured me were this species (but which I was doubtful about and on dissection they proved to be Gold Spots).

Gold Spot, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 31st May 2019

Marbled White Spot Deltote pygarga - 3 caught in the garden between 24th and 28th June 2019, the 3rd year out of 5 that I've caught 3 here - the other 2 years yielding 11 and 13.  None caught in the garden in 2020, my first blank year here, but singles at the meadows, Bintree Wood and Hills and Holes.

Marbled White Spot, North Elmham, 24th June 2019

Marbled White Spot, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 23rd June 2020

Silver Hook Deltote uncula - At least 2 seen by day at different points along the footpath from Carsaig to Rubha Dubh on Mull on 10th June (both in damp grassland immediately up from the beach).  None in 2020 - I've only ever seen one of these in Norfolk and it doesn't occur locally.

Silver Hooks, Carsaig to Rubha Dubh (Mull), 10th June

Nut-tree Tussock Colocasia coryli - In 2019, 5 caught here between 8th and 29th April then at least 22 between 12th July and 5th August (not counted on 4 dates but only singles on surrounding dates).  I averaged 55 per year over the previous 4 years - safe to say this was my worst year so far.  2020 was a bit better with 7 between 6th April and 18th May and 52 between 8th July and 6th August.  Elsewhere one at the meadows, 2 at Bintree Wood and 3 at Sculthorpe Moor.

Nut-tree Tussock, North Elmham, 8th April 2019

Nut-tree Tussock, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 22nd April 2019

Next page: more Noctuidae

Some good mothing at the meadows

A return to poor form on 14th June with just 28 species of moth, though these included a lovely Beautiful Golden Y, new for the year.  The others were Light Brown Apple-moth Epiphyas postvittana, 4 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 5 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Hook-streak Grass-veneer Crambus lathoniellus, Little Grey Eudonia lacustrata, Garden Pebble Evergestis forficalis, Lesser Pearl Sitochroa verticalis, 3 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Treble Brown Spot, Silver-ground Carpet, Scorched Wing, 2 Brimstone Moths, Privet Hawk-moth, 3 White Ermines, 17 Buff Ermines, Cinnabar, 3 Heart and Darts, Flame, 2 Flame Shoulders, 2 Ingrailed Clays, Setaceous Hebrew Character, 3 Common Wainscots, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, 5 Brown Rustics, Small Angle Shades, 3 Treble Lines and 5 Straw Dots.

Beautiful Golden Y, North Elmham, 14th June

With such a small haul of moths in the trap it was barely light by the time I'd finished going through it, so I took the opportunity to get up to the meadows early.  I netted two Treble-spot Flat-bodies Telechrysis tripuncta as I wandered down the trap, a species that is only recorded in Norfolk about twice a year on average.  I'd only ever seen them twice before.

Treble-spot Flat-body Telechrysis tripuncta, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

These were followed by a Meadow Dwarf Elachista triatomea, along with Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana, 2 Timothy Tortrixes Aphelia paleana, Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella and Hook-streak Grass-veneer Crambus lathoniellus.

 Meadow Dwarf Elachista triatomea, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Timothy Tortrix Aphelia paleana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

view across the River Wensum from North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Other wildlife recorded that morning included Green Nettle Weevil Phyllobius pomaceus, the hoverfly Melanostoma scalare and a number of Kentish Snails and White-lipped Snails.

I returned to the meadows in the evening for some moth trapping.  It was one of the better night's trapping I've done here (maybe the best?) with 82 species including some nice ones, if nothing enormously unusual: Meadow Case-bearer Coleophora mayrella, 4 Hedge Case-bearers Coleophora striatipennella, Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, 2 Black-headed Dwarfs Elachista atricomella, Swan-feather Dwarf Elachista argentella, London Dowd Blastobasis lacticolella, Common Yellow Conch Agapeta hamana, Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana, 2 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrixes Pandemis cerasana, Variegated Golden Tortrix Archips xylosteana, Dover Shade Cnephasia genitalana, 6 Light Grey Tortrixes Cnephasia incertana, Yellow Oak Button Aleimma loeflingiana, 35 Green Oak Tortrixes Tortrix viridana, 3 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 6 Plum Tortrixes Hedya pruniana, 3 Marbled Orchard Tortrixes Hedya nubiferana, Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, 5 Hoary Bells Eucosma cana, 2 Red Piercers Lathronympha strigana, 3 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 3 Hook-streak Grass-veneers Crambus lathoniellus, Meadow Grey Scoparia pyralella, 3 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 2 Lesser Pearls Sitochroa verticalis, 2 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Elder Pearl Anania coronata, 2 Fenland Pearls Anania perlucidalis, 2 Ghost Moths, Blood-vein, Single-dotted Wave, 3 Silver-ground Carpets, Green Carpet, 2 Sharp-angled Carpets, Lime-speck Pug, 4 Clouded Borders, 4 Scorched Wings, Mottled Beauty, Pale Oak Beauty, Common White Wave, Common Wave, Light Emerald, Eyed Hawk-moth, 2 Poplar Hawk-moths, 5 Elephant Hawk-moths, Swallow Prominent, Pale Prominent, 2 Marbled Browns, Lobster Moth, Four-dotted Footman, Common Footman, 4 White Ermines, 4 Buff Ermines, 10 Cinnabars, 5 Heart and Darts, 5 Flames, 4 Flame Shoulders, 4 Ingrailed Clays, Small Square-spot, 10 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 2 Bright-line Brown-eyes, Clay, Smoky Wainscot, 7 Common Wainscots, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, Poplar Grey, Grey Dagger, 6 Brown Rustics, Small Angle Shades, Small Clouded Brindle, Large Nutmeg, Rustic Shoulder-knot, 3 Marbled Minors, 10 Middle-barred Minors, 5 Treble Lines, 3 Uncertains, Vine's Rustic, 2 Mottled Rustics, Green Silver-lines, 2 Burnished Brasses, 8 Straw Dots and 2 Snouts.

Meadow Case-bearer Coleophora mayrella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Black-headed Dwarf Elachista atricomella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Variegated Golden Tortrix Archips xylosteana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Dover Shade Cnephasia genitalana (male, gen det), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Light Grey Tortrix Cnephasia incertana (male, gen det), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Green Oak Tortrix Tortrix viridana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Meadow Grey Scoparia pyralella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Lesser Pearl Sitochroa verticalis, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Small Magpie Anania hortulata, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Ghost Moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Sharp-angled Carpet, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Eyed Hawk-moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Poplar Hawk-moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Elephant Hawk-moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Swallow Prominent, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Pale Prominent, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Lobster Moth (with Green Oak Tortrix), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Four-dotted Footman, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Cinnabar (with Green Oak Tortrix), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Small Square-spot, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Clay, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Grey Dagger (male, gen det), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Small Angle Shades, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Small Clouded Brindle, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Large Nutmeg, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Green Silver-lines, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Snout, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Other inverts recorded included Common Toad, 4 mayflies that I think were probably Caenis horaria, the caddisflies Phryganea grandis, 2 Limnephilus auricula and Limnephilus flavicornis, the mirid bugs Phylus palliceps and Stenodema laevigata, a Great Blackclock beetle Pterostichus niger, a luminescing Glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca, the sawfly Tenthredo livida and the spider Nuctenea umbratica.

Common Toad, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Phylus palliceps, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Great Blackclock Pterostichus niger, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

luminescences from a Glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June

Tenthredo livida, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June