Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Slenders and Midgets (Gracillariidae) (part 2: Aspilapteryx, Calybites, Acrocercops, Leucospilapteryx and Callisto)

SLENDERS and MIDGETS (GRACILLARIIDAE) (continued)


Ribwort Slender Aspilapteryx tringipennella - 6 here between 26th July and 5th August 2019 represented a below average year for this species but 2020 smashed my record with 29 between 18th May and 29th August (peaking at 4 on 23rd and 26th July).  Similarly at the meadows, one in 2019 and 6 in 2020 (including an earlier one on 2nd May).

Ribwort Slender Aspilapterix tringipennella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 26th July 2019

Ribwort Slender Aspilapterix tringipennella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd May 2020

Gold-dot Slender Euspilapteryx auroguttella - None.  This distinctive species looks like it should be common enough round here but it continues to studiously avoid my lights and net.  Its foodplant grows at the meadows so I shall have to look carefully for its mines in 2021.


Little Slender Calybites phasianipennella - Singles caught in my garden trap on 22nd and 24th July 2019 and 11th April and 5th and 19th August 2020.  I've only seen this species here twice before, both in 2016.

Little Slender Calybites phasianipennella, North Elmham, 22nd July 2019

Little Slender Calybites phasianipennella, North Elmham, 5th August 2020

Brown Oak Slender Acrocercops brongniardella - I've not seen this species before, but I think I found the remains of a leaf-mine at the meadows on 20th September 2019.  As always, please correct me if I'm wrong - I'm not great with leaf-mines.

vacated leaf-mine of Brown Oak Slender Acrocercops brongniardella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th September

Mugwort Slender Leucospilapteryx omissella - Singles caught in the garden on 24th July and 20th August 2020.  At this point this was a species that wasn't on my radar and I hadn't previously identified, and I nearly mistakenly put these down as Brown Oak Slender Acrocercops brongniardella.  That caused me to re-examine my photos of my previous record of brongniardella (from here in 2016) and sure enough, that was in fact also omissella.

Mugwort Slender Leucospilapteryx omissella, North Elmham, 24th July 2020

Garden Apple Slender Callisto denticulella - My first ever example of this species was caught in my garden moth trap on 12th June 2020.

Garden Apple Slender Callisto denticulella, North Elmham, 12th June 2020

Next page: more Gracillariidae

Gold Spot, Butterbur and a monopoly of Bryotropha basaltinella

A new moth for the garden on 23rd August was this fantastic Gold Spot.  They're not supposed to be very unusual but this was only the second Gold Spot I've seen anywhere.

Gold Spot, North Elmham, 23rd August

Another good macro, though much less exciting to look at, was this Butterbur - my second of the autumn.

Butterbur, North Elmham, 23rd August

Much rarer than either of these, at least as far as number of records are concerned, were a pair of micros.  I have the monopoly on Thatch Groundlings Bryotropha basaltinella in Norfolk.  I found the first in my garden trap shortly after moving in to North Elmham in 2014.  The second followed last year and now here are two more.

Thatch Groundlings Bryotropha basaltinella (female above and male below, gen det), North Elmham, 23rd August

An Ashy Button Acleris sparsana was a surprise.  I normally see these in October, with all previous records falling between mid September and mid November, so wasn't expecting to add one to the year list on 23rd August!

Ashy Button Acleris sparsana, North Elmham, 23rd August

Others new for the year were Firethorn Leaf-miner Phyllonorycter leucographella, Small Alder Midget Phyllonorycter stettinensis and Wax Moth Galleria mellonella.

Small Alder Midget Phyllonorycter stettinensis (male, gen det), North Elmham, 23rd August

Wax Moth Galleria mellonella, North Elmham, 23rd August

Other decent micros included an impressive count of 7 Oak Bent-wings Bucculatrix ulmella, Little Slender Calybites phasianipennella and Sallow Marble Apotomis capreana.

Oak Bent-wing Bucculatrix ulmella, North Elmham, 23rd August

Little Slender Calybites phasianipennella, North Elmham, 23rd August

Sallow Marble Apotomis capreana, North Elmham, 23rd August

A good selection of other micros again with Cork Moth Nemapogon cloacella, Apple Leaf Miner Lyonetia clerkella, Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae, Blackthorn Slender Parornix torquillella, Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner Cameraria ohridella, Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana, 2 Golden Argents Argyresthia goedartella, Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella, Little Ermel Swammerdamia pyrella, Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella, Golden-brown Tubic Crassa unitella, Small Dingy Tubic Borkhausenia fuscescens, 3 Brown House Moths Hofmannophila pseudospretella, Long-horned Flat-body Carcina quercana, Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis, Dingy Dowd Blastobasis adustella, Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana, Heather Tortrix Argyrotaenia ljungiana, 3 Light Brown Apple Moths Epiphyas postvittana, Dover Shade Cnephasia genitalana, Dark-triangle Button Acleris laterana, 3 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, 6 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, 2 Pearl Veneers Agriphila straminella, 4 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 12 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneers Agriphila geniculea, 2 Chequered Grass-veneers Catoptria falsella, 2 Water Veneers Acentria ephemerella, Little Grey Eudonia lacustrata, 3 Ringed China-marks Parapoynx stratiotata, 3 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, 2 Pale Straw Pearls Udea lutealis, 2 Rusty-dot Pearls Udea ferrugalis, 5 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, 2 Grey Knot-horns Acrobasis advenella, 2 Beautiful Plumes Amblyptilia acanthadactyla and 2 Common Plumes Emmelina monodactyla.

Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae (female, gen det), North Elmham, 23rd August

Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 23rd August

Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, North Elmham, 23rd August

Beautiful Plume Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, North Elmham, 23rd August

Among the macros there was another good count of 60 Straw Dots and the first autumn-generation Vine's Rustic.  Others were 3 Orange Swifts, Pebble Hook-tip, Large Emerald, 2 Blood-veins, Small Dusty Wave, 3 Single-dotted Waves, 5 Riband Waves, 6 Common Carpets, Yellow Shell, Purple Bar, 2 Green Carpets, Small Rivulet, Maple Pug, Currant Pug, Tawny Speckled Pug, Treble-bar, Yellow-barred Brindle, 19 Brimstone Moths, 4 Canary-shouldered Thorns, 3 Dusky Thorns, 3 Willow Beauties, 2 Lesser Swallow Prominents, Dingy Footman, Common Footman, 16 Flame Shoulders, 9 Large Yellow Underwings, 8 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, Small Square-spot, 3 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 3 Square-spotted Clays, 9 Square-spot Rustics, Straw Underwing, Common Rustic, Burnished Brass and Snout.

Vine's Rustic, North Elmham, 23rd August

Other insects included the Green Lacewing Dichochrysa flavifrons and the Brown Lacewing Hemerobius lutescens (new for the house, though several more found later in the autumn).  Caddisflies included another Hydroptila sparsa.

Hemerobius lutescens, North Elmham, 23rd August

Bugs included the leafhopper Lamprotettix nitidulus, new for the house.  Check out the sad face on its scutellum...

Lamprotettix nitidulus, North Elmham, 23rd August

Also Eared Leafhopper Ledra aurita and 2 Forest Bugs (Red-legged Shieldbugs).

Coleophora solitariella - first modern record of an adult in Norfolk

A stroll round Syderstone Common during my lunch break on 4th July produced 16 Small Heaths, Ringlet and some Meadow Browns.  Several Skippers were too fleeting to identify but one that sat out was a Small Skipper.  The only moths seen were 4 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis.

It's always exciting to see what you can find among the Coleophora, but if you get anything good you tend not to know it until you have it under a microscope.  Often though you can have a pretty good stab at the ID beforehand and when you get stuck on externals there's a better chance that the internals will reveal something interesting.  That was the case with one of the Coleophora on 4th July.  Not obvious what it might be on externals so I chopped it.  I didn't immediately recognise the genitalia so at this point I went back to the moth and took it through the key in MOGBI.  That often fails - a moth only has to have antennae ringed to the tip when MOGBI thinks it shouldn't and the right answer gets ruled out, for example, but on this occasion it came up trumps.  Once a provisional answer had been arrived at I checked the genitalia against that and yes, that was the boy!  Ochreous Case-bearer Coleophora solitariella.  Not many records in Norfolk and looking at the detail it seems that all the modern ones are of larvae.  There are two records from 1874 that don't say if they're adult or not, but mine seems to be the first adult to be found (and identified) in Norfolk in modern times.

That might suggest that they're rather rare, but I suspect they're not really.  Stewart Wright has found their larvae in several places over the last couple of years so they can't be all that rare.  Various references say the adults are rarely observed, so presumably it just doesn't come to light all that often for some reason.  Plus of course it's a Coleophora - not many people bother with them!

Ochreous Case-bearer Coleophora solitariella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 4th July

A couple of other micros were new for the house: Little Slender Calybites phasianipennella and Blotched Marble Endothenia quadrimaculana.

Little Slender Calybites phasianipennella, North Elmham, 4th July

Blotched Marble Endothenia quadrimaculana, North Elmham, 4th July

Most of the other additions to the garden year list were also micros: Tipped Oak Case-bearer Coleophora flavipennella, Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis heparana, 3 Variegated Golden Tortrices Archips xylosteana, Holly Tortrix Rhopobota naevana, White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella, Pearl Grass-veneer Catoptria pinella and Scalloped Oak.

Pearl Grass-veneer Catoptria pinella, North Elmham, 4th July

White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella, North Elmham, 4th July

Scalloped Oak, North Elmham, 4th July

Vareigated Golden Tortrix Archips xtlosteana, North Elmham, 4th July

Tipped Oak Case-bearer Coleophora flavipennella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 4th July

Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis heparana, North Elmham, 4th July

 Holly Tortrix Rhopobota naevana, North Elmham, 4th July

Of the 81 species of moth recorded that night the rest of the micros were 2 Case-bearing Clothes Moths Tinea pellionella, Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella, 2 Brown House Moths Hofmannophila pseudospretella, Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis, Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis cerasana, 7 Large Fruit-tree Tortrices Archips podana, 2 Privet Tortrices Clepsis consimilana, 3 Large Ivy Tortrices Lozotaenia forsterana, Flax Tortrix Cnephasia asseclana, Light Grey Tortrix Cnephasia incertana, Yellow Oak Button Aleimma loeflingiana, 5 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 12 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Plum Tortrix Hedya pruniana, 3 Marbled Orchard Tortrices Hedya nubiferana, Crescent Bell Epinotia bilunana, 29 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 3 Grass-veneers Crambus pascuella, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, Base-lined Grey Scoparia basistrigalis, Little Grey Eudonia lacustrata, 3 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Beautiful Knot-horn Rhodophaea formosa, False Cacao Moth Ephestia unicolorella and White Plume Pterophorus pentadactyla.

Beautiful Knot-horn Rhodophaea formosa, North Elmham, 4th July

Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, North Elmham, 4th July

The remaining micros were 2 Small Fan-footed Waves, Single-dotted Wave, 4 Treble Brown Spots, 7 Riband Waves, 4 Barred Straws, Sandy Carpet, 2 Grey Pugs, Green Pug, Clouded Border, Swallow-tailed Moth, 2 Peppered Moths, 5 Willow Beauties, Mottled Beauty, Clouded Silver, 3 Elephant Hawkmoths, Rosy Footman, Common Footman, Buff Ermine, 2 Heart and Darts, 10 Flames, Flame Shoulder, 5 Large Yellow Underwings, Setaceous Hebrew Character, 7 Double Square-spots, Dot Moth, Bright-line Brown-eye, Clay, 2 Smoky Wainscots, Common Wainscot, 2 Poplar Greys, 3 Brown Rustics, Small Angle Shades, 9 Dark Arches, Light Arches, Marbled Minor, Rufous Minor, Tawny Marbled Minor, 3 Middle-barred Minors, 7 Uncertains, 2 Mottled Rustics, 2 Burnished Brasses, Spectacle, 3 Straw Dots, 6 Snouts and Fan-foot.

Rufous Minor (male, gen det), North Elmham, 4th July

Caddisflies included Polycentropus flavomaculatus, Hydropsyche sp. (probably siltalai), Limnephilus auriculas, Limnephilus lunatus and Leptocerus tineiformis. Also another Summer Chafer.

The following night there were just 4 new for the year: Grey Tortrix Cnephasia stephensiana, Twin-barred Knot-horn Homoeosoma sinuella, Common Rustic and Rustic.

The others were Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana, Large Ivy Tortrix Lozotaenia forsterana, Flax Tortrix Cnephasia asseclana, 6 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Marbled Orchard Tortrix Hedya nubiferana, 3 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Grass-veneer Crambus pascuella, 3 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Ermine Knot-horn Phycitodes binaevella, White Plume Pterophorus pentadactyla, Small Fan-footed Wave, 2 Dwarf Cream Waves, Treble Brown Spot, Riband Wave, 3 Barred Straws, Barred Yellow, Clouded Border, Scorched Wing, Brimstone Moth, Scalloped Oak, Peppered Moth, Willow Beauty, 2 Common Footmen, 9 Buff Ermines, 2 Cinnabars, 2 Flames, Bright-line Brown-eye, Brown Rustic, 3 Dark Arches, Marbled Minor, Tawny Marbled Minor, Middle-barred Minor, 9 Uncertains, 2 Spectacles, Beautiful Hook-tip, Straw Dot, 4 Snouts and Small Fan-foot.