Lolly Moor and Marsham Heath

I thought a pleasant warm evening on 31st August might be good for dusking so I popped down to Lolly Moor NWT reserve.  It felt a bit slow but in the end it wasn't bad: White-speckled Clothes Moth Nemapogon koenigi (just realised this has changed its name from N. wolffiella), Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella, 18 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, Marsh Grey Eudonia pallida, Mother of Pearl Pleuroptya ruralis, Common Carpet, Green Carpet, 5 Straw Dots and Pinion-streaked Snout.

White-speckled Clothes Moth Nemapogon koenigi, Lolly Moor, 31st August

Pinion-streaked Snout, Lolly Moor, 31st August

One spider that found itself in the net was duly photographed and subsequently identified as Linyphia triangularis, the first time I've identified this species.   Other non-lepidopteran interest included the brown lacewing Hemerobius humulinus and a Hobby.

Linyphia triangularis, Lolly Moor, 31st August

Hemerobius humulinus, Lolly Moor, 31st August

Moths at home that night consisted of Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner Cameraria ohridella, Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella, Woundwort Case-bearer Coleophora lineolea, 2 Little Dwarfs Elachista canapennella, Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis corylana, 2 Light Brown Apple Moths Epiphyas postvittana, 5 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 6 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, Common Grass-veneer Agriphila tristella, Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea, 2 Narrow-winged Greys Eudonia angustea, 3 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, Pale Straw Pearl Udea lutealis, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, Orange Swift, Single-dotted Wave, 2 Common Carpets, 3 Common Marbled Carpets, 3 Green Carpets, Treble-bar, 15 Brimstone Moths, 2 Canary-shouldered Thorns, 4 Dusky Thorns, 6 Light Emeralds, 8 Flame Shoulders, 21 Large Yellow Underwings, 10 Lesser Yellow Underwings, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Small Square-spot, 6 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, Square-spotted Clay, 8 Square-spot Rustics, Lychnis, Common Wainscot, 3 Centre-barred Sallows, 6 Flounced Rustics, Rosy Rustic, Frosted Orange, 2 Burnished Brasses, 12 Straw Dots, 9 Snouts and another Pinion-streaked Snout.

The following night Dave and I trapped at Marsham Heath.  We didn't manage to trap any of our targets but found several noteworthy moths nonetheless.  Perhaps the best was Brown Knot-horn Pyla fusca, a species I had only seen once before, at the same place in 2012. 

Brown Knot-horn Pyla fusca, Marsham Heath, 1st September

Another 'second' was this Red Birch Slender Caloptilia betulicola.

Red Birch Slender Caloptilia betuclicola (male, gen det), Marsham Heath, 1st September

Other species I don't see often included Birch Sober Anacampsis blattariella and 5 Dark Grass-veneers Crambus hamella.

Birch Sober Anacampsis blattariella, Marsham Heath, 1st September

Dark Grass-veneer Crambus hamella, Marsham Heath, 1st September

We saw lots (at least 25) of Marbled Piercers Cydia splendana, but at least a lot of them looked bigger than usual and the majority were dark forms (none were the pale form that I usually see most often though some approached that).  Some were quite tatty but others were very fresh, yet the Cydia splendana I see at home peak in late July and are almost over by September.  It was almost as though these were a different species!  Confused, I retained a selection and checked them when I got home - they were indeed Cydia splendana.  Interestingly I see Cydia splendana feeds on Oak and Sweet Chestnut.  There are one or two oaks near my garden but no Sweet Chestnut nearby so far as I know.  Most of the other places I've trapped this species in the past have been near Oaks too.  Here at Marsham Heath there were lots of Sweet Chestnut (and some of these were caught flying around the Sweet Chestnuts).  Is it possible that Oak-feeding populations are paler and smaller and earlier on average than Sweet Chestnut feeding populations?  Pure speculation without more data, but something I shall be interested to study in future.  Maybe they're cryptic species...

Marbled Piercers Cydia splendana, Marsham Heath, 1st September

Other moths we recorded were 6 Golden Argents Argyresthia goedartella, Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella, 6 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, Dark-triangle Button Acleris laterana, 2 Birch Marbles Apotomis betuletana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, 4 Small Birch Bells Epinotia ramella, Common Birch Bell Epinotia immundana, Bramble Shoot Moth Notocelia uddmanniana, 65 Grey Gorse Piercers Cydia ulicetana, 8 Ground-moss Greys Eudonia truncicolella, Orange Swift, Common Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, 3 Grey Pine Carpets, Spruce Carpet, Green Carpet, 4 Double-striped Pugs, Tawny-barred Angle, 3 Brimstone Moths, Canary-shouldered Thorn, 2 Light Emeralds, Black Arches, Flame Shoulder, 2 Large Yellow Underwings, 2 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, Square-spot Rustic, Copper Underwing and 2 Silver Ys.

Grey Gorse Piercer Cydia ulicetana, Marsham Heath, 1st September

Common Birch Bell Epinotia immundana, Marsham Heath, 1st September

Small Birch Bell Eponotia ramella, Marsham Heath, 1st September

Birch Marble Apotomis betuletana, Marsham Heath, 1st September

Ground-moss Grey Eudonia truncicolella, Marsham Heath, 1st September

Other things at Marsham Heath included Southern Hawker and the Brown Lacewing Hemerobius humulinus.  On the way home we saw a small (presumably young) Badger beside the B1145 just west of Reepham.

Alderford Common

A relatively warm Friday evening with cloud cover promised for most of the first part of the evening, so a good night to head out somewhere with a light.  Dave is keen to see Small Eggar and we failed to find recently where I'd seen one before at Creaking Gate Lake so he was keen to try his luck at Alderford Common this time, another site the species is known from and where there is plenty of suitable habitat.

We were disapppointed to find that the temperature had plummeted between leaving home and arriving on site - a heavy rain shower had recently passed through and I think it must have cooled things down a bit.  We set up anyway and things got off to a very slow start indeed.  After a while 1-2 moths had flown past the light but nothing had come in and I was starting to wonder if we should cut our losses and head home.  But we stuck it out and suddenly for no apparent reason it got livelier.  In the end it proved a worthwhile trip, although no Small Eggars for Dave.

The best of the macros was a Red Chestnut, followed by Water Carpet.

Red Chestnut, Alderford Common, 8th April

Also 2 March Moths, 3 Shoulder Stripes, 5 Brindled Pugs, Engrailed, 3 Small Quakers, 12 Common Quakers, 9 Clouded Drabs, 5 Twin-spotted Quakers, 2 Hebrew Characters and 2 Early Greys.  Counts are minimums - probably the numbers of the more numerous species were really quite a bit higher.

Shoulder Stripe, Alderford Common, 8th April

Clouded Drab, Alderford Common, 8th April

But as is so often the way it was the micros that provided the most excitement, despite there only being 3 species.  They included Dave's first and my second ever Dawn Flat-body Semioscopis steinkellneriana.

Dawn Flat-body Semioscopis steinkellneriana, Alderford Common, 8th April

Two Caloptilia looked like good candidates for elongella but on dissection provided to be Red Birch Slenders Caloptilia betulicola - a scarcer species and new to both of us.

Red Birch Slender Caloptilia betulicola (male, gen det), Alderford Common, 8th April

Red Birch Slender Caloptilia betulicola (female, gen det), Alderford Common, 8th April

The other micros were at least 4 March Tubics Diurnea fagella.

A few moths at home too: March Tubic Diurnea fagella, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, 2 March Moths, Shoulder Stripe, Oak Beauty, Small Quaker, Common Quaker and 4 Hebrew Characters.

Oak Beauty, North Elmham, 8th April