Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Slenders and Midgets (Gracillariidae) (part 1: Caloptilia and Gracillaria)

SLENDERS and MIDGETS (GRACILLARIIDAE)


Clouded Slender Caloptilia populetorum - One caught in my garden on 10th August 2020 was only my second ever following one here in 2018.  This is possibly also the ID of a leaf-roll in Downy Birch at the meadows in 2019.  Comments welcome, but it sounds like these can't be done positively without rearing them through.

female Clouded Slender Caloptilia populetorum, North Elmham, 10th August 2019

possible Clouded Slender Caloptilia populetorum (??) leaf-mine, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 10th May 2019

Pale Red Slender Caloptilia elongella - None.  I've caught this species at home twice, in 2016 and 2018.


Red Birch Slender Caloptilia betulicola - None.  I've not found this species any closer than Alderford Common and Marsham Heath but it's widespread enough so I must have a fair chance of finding it here.


Small Red Slender Caloptilia rufipennella - Singles in the garden moth trap on 23rd and 25th July 2019, doubling the number of this species I've recorded here (singles in 2016 and 2018).  None in 2020.

Small Red Slender Caloptilia rufipennella, North Elmham, 25th July 2019

Yellow-triangle Slender Caloptilia alchimiella - A male in my moth trap on 17th August 2019 and an unprecedented 5 caught here between 8th and 20th August 2020.  My previous best annual tally was 3 and I didn't catch any in 2018.  Also one at Bintree Wood on 26th June 2020.

male Yellow-triangle Slender Caloptilia alchimiella, North Elmham, 17th August 2019

female Yellow-triangle Slender Caloptilia alchimiella, North Elmham, 10th August 2020

New Oak Slender Caloptilia robustella - Singles in my garden trap on 24th July and 27th August 2019 and 4 between 31st July and 16th August 2020.  Also one at Swanton Great Wood in August 2019 and one at the meadows on 17th May 2020.  I've recorded this species every full year I've lived here with an average of over 3 per year.

male New Oak Slender Caloptilia robustella, North Elmham, 24th July 2019

male New Oak Slender Caloptilia robustella, Swanton Great Wood, 27th August 2019

male New Oak Slender Caloptilia robustella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 17th May 2020

male New Oak Slender Caloptilia robustella, North Elmham, 31st  July 2020

White-triangle Slender Caloptilia stigmatella - One caught in my garden moth trap on 11th August 2020, my 5th here in 6 years.  Also one at Weybourne no 5th July 2019.

female White-triangle Slender Caloptilia stigmatella, North Elmham, 11th August 2020

Scarce Alder Slender Caloptilia falconipennella - One caught in my garden moth trap on 3rd April 2020.  I'd had them here previously in 2017 and 2018.

male Scarce Alder Slender Caloptilia falconipennella, North Elmham, 3rd April 2020

Maple Slender Caloptilia semifascia - 3 in my garden trap between 21st and 25th July 2019, one on 3rd April 2020 and 5 between 30th July and 15th August 2020.  Following singles here in 2014, 2016 and 2017 I had 4 in 2018, suggesting this species is becoming commoner.  Also one at the meadows on 13th July 2020.  The first 5 of this species that I caught (between 2014 and April 2018) were of the autumn/spring hibernating generation that shows a white angled streak on the forewing but 12 of the last 13 I've seen (2018-2020) were of the summer generation that shows a whitish costal blotch, so it seems like it's just the summer generation that is increasing.

Maple Slender Caloptilia semifascia, North Elmham, 21st July 2019

Maple Slender Caloptilia semifascia, North Elmham, 30th July 2020

Common Slender Gracillaria syringella - Singles in my garden trap on 25th May and 23rd June 2019 but none in 2020.  I'd only caught one of these here before (in 2017) although I've seen a few elsewhere.

Common Slender Gracillaria syringella, North Elmham, 25th May 2019

Next page: more Gracillariidae

3 new moths for the garden and a new lacewing

It was a poor night by neighbouring night's standards on 4th August with just 40 species.  Only one was new for the year, though a moth I'd only seen here once before: Small Dotted Buff.

Small Dotted Buff, North Elmham, 4th August

Other moths were Carrion Moth Monopis weaverella, Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella, Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, 2 Little Ermines Swammerdamia pyrella, Woundwort Case-bearer Coleophora lineolea, Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, Straw Conch Cochylimorpha straminea, 3 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, 2 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, 9 Straw Grass-veneers Agriphila straminella, 30 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, Beautiful China-mark Nymphula nitidulata, Mother of Pearl Pleuroptya ruralis, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, 2 Common Plumes Emmelina monodactyla, Single-dotted Wave, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Shaded Broad-bar, Common Carpet, Small Waved Umber, Maple Pug, Dusky Thorn, Early Thorn, Scalloped Oak, Pebble Prominent, Swallow Prominent, Coxcomb Prominent, 2 Dingy Footmen, Ruby Tiger, 5 Turnip Moths, 2 Flame Shoulders, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, 6 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 3 Common Wainscots, 2 Straw Underwings, Twin-spotted Wainscot, Silver Y and 7 Straw Dots.

Twin-spotted Wainscot, North Elmham, 4th August

Other insects included Blue-winged Olive Serratella ignita (a mayfly) and Bradycellus verbasci (a beetle). Also noticed a Common Zebra Spider Salticus scenicus indoors during the day.

The following night was considerably better. with no less than 3 new moths for the garden including one I'd never seen anywhere before.  The lifer was Clouded Slender Caloptilia populetorum, apparently an increasing species with as many records in Norfolk in the last couple of years as there had ever been up to 2015.

Clouded Slender Caloptilia populetorum, North Elmham, 5th August

I thought this very worn moth was going to be one of the Momphids but on dissection it clearly didn't fit.  Skimming through other genitalia diagrams came across similar ones for the two Blastodacna species.  I see hellerella quite often and this was much bigger (forewing length 6 mm, worn).  Mine was in fact an Apple-pith Moth Blastodacna atra, a much rarer species.  I'd seen one in 2012 when living at Bawdeswell wbich was only second site the species had been recorded at in Norfolk since the 1800s and 3 people have recorded them since then, but it remains a very scarce species in Norfolk.  Don't think I would have ever guessed this ID from the moth's external appearance, although the size would have been a pretty big clue if I'd ever managed to figure out that it was a Blastodacna.  Fortunately there are a few small differences in the genitalia and this confirmed it.  The one I saw in 2012 was much easier!

Apple-pith Moth Blastodacna atra (female, gen det), North Elmham, 5th August

The third new moth for the garden had come from at least 15 miles away and was a bit more straightforward to identify: a Saltmarsh Plume Agdistis bennetii.  My third saltmarsh species this summer, though unlike the Silver-streaked Case-bearer Coleophora limoniella and the Saltern Groundling Scrobipalpa instabililla this species is well-known for occasionally wandering inland.

Saltmarsh Plume Agdistis bennetii, North Elmham, 5th August

There were 3 more moths that were new for the year: Pine Leaf-mining Moth Clavigesta purdeyi, Miller and 5 Flounced Rustics.

Pine Leaf-mining Moth Clavigesta purdeyi, North Elmham, 5th August

Miller, North Elmham, 5th August

Flounced Rustics, North Elmham, 5th August

A Twin-spotted Wainscot was my fifth this year - remarkable for a not-particularly-common species that lives in reedbeds.  It was in fact the fourth consecutive night the species turned up here, but definitely different individuals involved.  Also noteworthy were 4 Maple Pugs - double the highest number I've trapped on one night before.  Another record count was 6 Golden Argents Argyresthia goedartella.

Maple Pug, North Elmham, 5th August

The other moths were Carrion Moth Monopis weaverella, Bird’s-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, a Parornix sp. (escaped before it could be identified), Ermine sp. Yponomeuta padella/malinellus/cagnagella, 2 Little Ermines Swammerdamia pyrella, 3 Diamond-backs Plutella xylostella, Small Dingy Tubic Borkhausenia fuscescens, 3 Brown House Moths Hofmannophila pseudospretella, 2 Long-horned Flat-bodies Carcina quercana, Dark Neb Bryotropha affinis, 4 Cinerous Nebs Bryotropha terrella, House Neb Bryotropha domestica, 5 Dingy Dowds Blastobasis adustella, 2 Light Brown Apple-moths Epiphyas postvittana, 2 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, Blotched Marble Endothenia quadrimaculana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, 3 Marbled Piercers Cydia splendana, 23 Straw Grass-veneers Agriphila straminella, 33 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 2 Water Veneers Acentria ephemerella, Little Grey Eudonia lacustrata, 2 Small Greys Eudonia mercurella, 2 Beautiful China-marks Nymphula nitidulata, Garden Pebble Evergestis forficalis, Pale Straw Pearl Udea lutealis, 15 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, 3 Grey Knot-horns Acrobasis advenella, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, Blood-vein, 3 Single-dotted Waves, 2 Red Twin-spot Carpets, 5 Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets, Common Carpet, Small Phoenix, 2 Currant Pugs, 3 Double-striped Pugs, 3 Yellow-barred Brindles, 2 Magpie Moths, 2 Brimstone Moths, 2 Canary-shouldered Thorns, 2 Willow Beauties, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Pale Prominent, 2 Dingy Footmen, Scarce Footman, 3 Turnip Moths, 3 Shuttle-shaped Darts, 12 Flame Shoulders, 4 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, 9 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, White-point, 3 Common Wainscots, 3 Straw Underwings, Cloaked Minor, 2 Vine's Rustics, Spectacle and 5 Straw Dots.

Yellow-barred Brindle, North Elmham, 5th August

Cloaked Minor, North Elmham, 5th August

Among the other insects the clear highlight was another new pine-feeding brown lacewing, this time Hemerobius stigma.

Hemerobius stigma, North Elmham, 5th August

Other lacewings were 2 Chrysoperla carnea, Cunctochrysa albolineata, Dichochrysa flavifrons and 3 Micromus variegatus.  Mayflies consisted of Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum, Pale Evening Dun Procloeon bifidum and 8 Blue-winged Olives Serratella ignita and the caddisflies were 2 Ithytrichia lamellaris, Hydropsyche pellucidula, 4 Hydropsyche siltalai, Limnephilus marmoratus, Molanna angustata and Leptocerus tineiformis.

Among the leafhoppers this Lamprotettix nitidulus was new for the year.

Lamptotettix nitidulus, North Elmham, 5th August

I think this leafhopper is Oncopsis flavicollis but I have never seen this form before - it looks completely different from others I've seen.

Oncopsis flavicollis, North Elmham, 5th August

Apart from those leafhoppers, the only bug was Stenodema calcarata.

Stenodema calcarata, North Elmham, 5th August

Acorn Weevil Curculio glandium was new for the year.  Other beetles were 3 Amara apricaria, Bradycellus verbasci, Nicrophorus investigator and Aphodius rufipes.

Acorn Weevil Curculio glandium, North Elmham, 5th August

Finally there were 5 Hornets.