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

And then it all happened...

Mothing at home this year has been fairly uneventful with no new moths for the house until Thursday night.  Recently numbers have picked up but variety has remained low - even new moths for the year have been hard to come by.  Then Thursday night happened.

The clear highlight was a Grey Pine Ermel Ocnerostoma friesei - a tiny grey moth that isn't much to look at but is a great record, and my first.  There are just five previous Norfolk records, all from 2011 and 2014 and all from one observer and one location (Dersingham).

Grey Pine Ermel Ocnerostoma friesei (male, gen det), North Elmham, 30th March

Another good moth was Scarce Alder Slender Caloptilia falconipennella - my second ever (excluding the one I mentioned in my last blog post - I don't count moths if they're brought to me) and first for my garden.

Scarce Alder Slender Caloptilia falconipennella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 30th March

In the same genus and also new for the year and one I've not seen many times before was White-triangle Slender Caloptilia stigmatella.

White-triangle Slender Caloptilia stigmatella, North Elmham, 30th March

Another one I've not often seen and hadn't caught here since 2015 was Pale Pinion.

Pale Pinion, North Elmham, 30th March

I also missed Water Carpet at home last year, although I see plenty of them elsewhere.  Good to get it on the garden year list.

Water Carpet, North Elmham, 30th March

I always enjoy my first Purple Thorn of the year.  The photos taken using flash (first two) showed the warmth of the colours well but I noticed they didn't show the white lunar marks as clearly as they looked in life (especially on the upper hindwing), so I took a couple of photos without using flash too (bottom two).

Purple Thorn, North Elmham, 30th March

Everyone loves a Streamer - another new species for the year.

Streamer, North Elmham, 30th March

More routine new species for the year were Many-plumed Moth Alucita hexadactyla and Double-striped Pug.

Many-plumed Moth Alcuita hexadactyla, North Elmham, 30th March

Double-striped Pug, North Elmham, 30th March

Other moths in the trap were 2 Common Flat-bodies Agonopterix heracliana, 2 Common Plumes Emmelina monodactyla, Brindled Pug, 3 Early Thorns, 4 Small Quakers, 5 Common Quakers, 9 Clouded Drabs, 9 Hebrew Characters and 4 Early Greys.  Also 3 Black Sexton Beetles, what looked like another Ophion scutellaris (Ichneumon) and 3 Green Lacewings (my first here this year) at least one and probably all 3 of which were Chrysoperla carnea.

Friday night was back to more or less normal with a few moths of mainly the same species as normal, although Brindled Beauty was a nice addition to the garden year list.

Brindled Beauty, North Elmham, 31st March

The others were Water Carpet, 2 Early Thorns, Small Quaker, 3 Clouded Drabs, 9 Hebrew Characters and 2 Early Greys. Also a couple of Black Sexton Beetles.

Beetley Common by torchlight and now caught up

I'd recently acquired a new headtorch with a very bright beam so on the relativly mild evening of 28th October I decided to have a wander round Beetley Common to see if it was any good for mothing.  In the first few yards 3 moths passed through the torchbeam, two of which I managed to net: White-triangle Slender Caloptilia stigmatella and Nut Leaf Blister Moth Phyllonorycter coryli.

White-triangle Slender Caloptilia stigmatella, Beetley Common, 29th October

Nut Leaf Blister Moth Phyllonorycter coryli, Beetley Common, 29th October

After that things went downhill as the temperature dropped - just one more moth which I didn't manage to catch and a Green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea agg. (actually they go brown in the winter, but they're still Green Lacewings not Brown Lacewings...).  It will be interesting to see how effective this method is when there are more moths about - my impression is that with a good beam it will make finding and catching flying moths easier although I'm not sure it actually attracts them to the light.  On the downside the light was noticeably dimmer after just a couple of quick circuits of the common so battery life doesn't seem particularly good, plus I'm not sure how comfortable it will be if it attracts lots of midges to my forehead!

The light was good at picking out certain types of fungi (although others were much harder to see than in daylight).  This Fly Agaric was nice and easy to identify.

Fly Agaric, Beetley Common, 29th October

This Stinkhorn was covered in flies - anyone know what sort of fly?

Stinkhorn with flies, Beetley Common, 29th October

I'd tentatively identified these as Parasol Mushrooms though noted that they were smaller and in different habitat from other Parasols I'd seen.  Big thanks to James for putting me right... they are in fact False Death Caps.

False Death Caps, Beetley Common, 29th October

I'd considered Penny Bun and Bay Bolete for these, but James thinks they're Bay Boletes...

Bay Boletes, Beetley Common, 29th October

At home that night I caught my first December Moth of the autumn.

December Moth, North Elmham, 29th October

This Currant Pug was a surprise being about a month later than my previous latest.

Currant Pug, North Elmham, 29th October

I find separation of Currant Pugs and Wormwood Pugs tricky - there are supposed to be differences in the prominence of the wing markings but I can't personally find any consistent differences.  The way they hold their wings also seems to be variable although size can be a good indicator on many, though they're close enough and with enough overlap that I now measure them all and check the genitalia of the ones that aren't clear.  With a forewing of 9.5-10 mm this individual was too small for Wormwood Pug but I checked it anyway.  The aedeagus was indeed that of a Currant Pug with three cornuti arranged in a band at the tip, so I'm sure the ID must be correct, but the 8th sternite was long and notched like on a Wormwood Pug!

8th sternite of Currant Pug resembling that of a Wormwood Pug, North Elmham, 29th October

Also late was my second October record of Common Marble Celypha lacunana.  There was also a bit of an Epirrita fest with 8 November Moths, 5 Pale November Moths and 2 unidentified (1 female, 1 escaped).  Also 2 Yellow-line Quakers, Barred Sallow and Angle Shades.

Pale November Moth (male, 8th sternite checked), North Elmham, 29th October

This cluster of 4 Harlequin Ladybirds seem to think my study is a good place to hibernate.

Harlequin Ladybird, North Elmham, 29th October

Next night there were Red-green Carpet, November Moth, Pale November Moth, 2 Yellow-line Quakers, Beaded Chestnut and 2 Angle Shades.

The last night of October produced a female Epirrita sp., 4 Feathered Thorns, Black Rustic, Green-brindled Crescent, Yellow-line Quaker and Beaded Chestnut.

November started very quietly on the moth front with Feathered Thorn and 2 Sprawlers on 1st, Sprawler and Beaded Chestnut on 2nd, just one Feathered Thorn on 3rd and nothing at all on 4th.

It continued poor for a week or so with just 1 Sprawler on 5th and 2 Sprawlers on 8th.  Slightly milder conditions on 11th produced Feathered Thorn and 2 Sprawlers and then the next evening produced my first Scarce Umber of the year along with Yellow-line Quaker.

Scarce Umber, North Elmham, 12th November

Seven moths the following night making it the best night for a fortnight - 2 Feathered Thorns and 5 Sprawlers.  Things continued to improve on 14th with Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana, 2 December Moths, Pale November Moth, another unidentified Epirrita sp., 6 Feathered Thorns and 2 Sprawlers.

The species count was even better on 15th (though still short of double figures) with Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana, December Moth, November Moth, another unidentified Epirrita sp., 3 Feathered Thorns, Scarce Umber, 5 Sprawlers, Yellow-line Quaker and Beaded Chestnut. Also the caddisflies Rhyacophila dorsalis and Limnephilus lunatus plus the mirid bug Pinalitus cervinus.

Things then returned to normal for November with Feathered Thorn, 3 Sprawlers and Yellow-line Quaker on 16th, an Epirrita sp. and a Sprawler on 16th.  No more moths for a few nights but these fungi - I can identify the Candlesnuff (I think) but not sure about the others.

Candlesnuff, Thetford, 19th November

unidentified mushrooms, 19th Thetford, November

The next moths were Sprawler and Black Rustic on 20th followed by 3 Feathered Thorns and a Sprawler on 21st, December Moth, Mottled Umber and Yellow-line Quaker on 22nd, just Feathered Thorn on 23rd, December Moth and Angle Shades on 24th, Feathered Thorn and Scarce Umber on 25th and December Moth on 26th.  Also caddisflies on 26th: 3 Limnephilus lunatus and Halesus radiatus.

Halesus radiatus, North Elmham, 26th November

My first Winter Moth of the winter appeared with a Sprawler on 27th.

Winter Moth, North Elmham, 27th November

Unsurprisingly given the subzero conditions, nothing on 28th or 29th.  The following night, last night, fell below zero too but started fractionally milder, enough for a Winter Moth to appear at one of the windows.

And that, for the first time in months, brings me bang up to date!