Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: White Bent-wings (Opostegidae), Lifts (Heliozelidae) and Long-horns (Adelidae)

WHITE BENT-WINGS (OPOSTEGIDAE)

(I'm not sure if English names have been allocated to some of the micro families so apologies if they have and I've made up the wrong ones...)


Sorrel Bent-wing Opostega salaciella - singles in my garden on 16th and 23rd July 2019 and one on 30th June 2020.  I'd only recorded 2 here before (2016 and 2017).  Also found at the meadows on 6th and 23rd June 2019 and 9th June 2020.  Elsewhere 4 together at dusk at Pennyghael on Mull on 13th June 2019.

Sorrel Bent-wing Opostega salaciella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 6th June 2019

Mint Bent-wing Pseudopostega crepusculella - None.  I've only seen this species once before and never locally.

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LIFTS (HELIOZELIDAE)


Four-spot Lift Antispila metallella - None.  I've never seen this species but although it's described as rare there are quite a few records in Norfolk, and there's plenty of Dogwood (its foodplant) at the meadows.


Yellow-spot Lift Antispila petryi - None.  Another Dogwood feeder I've never seen but that could potentially occur locally.


Oak Satin Lift Heliozela sericella - Seen at the meadows on 20th (2) and 30th April 2019. The only species of this family that I have found as adults anywhere so far, and I've not recorded it at home yet.  I usually find this species during the day flying around underneath Oak trees, sometimes in good numbers, but didn't find any in 2020.

Oak Satin Lift Heliozela sericella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April 2019

Alder Lift Heliozela resplendella - None.  I've only seen mines of this species but there's plenty of Alder in the area so hopefully I'll find adults locally at some point.

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LONG-HORNS (ADELIDAE)


Yellow-barred Long-horn Nemophora degeerella - 1-2 at the meadows on 3 dates between 6th and 21st June 2019 and on 3rd and 20th June 2020.  I've not recorded this common day-flying species in my garden yet. This is the only Nemophora I've seen - none of the other 4 Norfolk species are particularly common (except perhaps metallica in the Brecks) but any of them could conceivably turn up locally.

Yellow-barred Long-horn Nemophora degeerella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th June 2019

Yellow-barred Long-horn Nemophora degeerella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th June 2020

Green Long-horn Adela reaumurella - At least 5 lekking on Dogwood along the disused railway at the meadows on 26th April 2019, with fewer there still on 2nd May.  Recorded at the meadows on 4 dates in 2020 between 24th April and 15th May including at least 12 lekking on 12th May.  Another common day-flying moth that is missing from my garden list.

Green Long-horns Adela reaumurella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 26th April 2019

Green Long-horn Adela reaumurella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd May 2019

Green Long-horn Adela reaumurella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 8th May 2020

Early Long-horn Adela cuprella - None.  I've seen this species at Bittering so it's not far away, and there is suitable foodplant round here so I wouldn't be surprised to find it at the meadows.


Small Barred Long-horn Adela croesella - None.  I'm yet to find this species locally but there's no reason why it shouldn't occur round here.


Little Long-horn Cauchas fibulella - None.  Another one I've not seen locally but could potentially occur round here.


Meadow Long-horn Cauchas rufimitrella - 3 at the meadows on 15th May and 5 on 25th May 2019.  Of the 5 one was on Garlic Mustard as you'd expect but the other 4 were on Wintercress which isn't listed as a larval foodplant for this species.  However, there is Garlic Mustard and Cuckoo-flower growing in the vicinity, both of which are foodplants, so they the larvae may have come from those.  None of the other Cauchas species recorded in 2019.  None seen in 2020 and not yet recorded at home.

Meadow Long-horn Cauchas rufimitrella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

Sandy Long-horn Nematopogon schwarziellus - None.  I found this species at my previous house in Bawdeswell but I'm yet to record it in North Elmham.  It appears to be the scarcest of the 3 similar species in Norfolk.


Buff Long-horn Nematopogon metaxella - One in the garden moth trap on 21st June 2020, my first here since 2017 (3 previous records, 2 in 2015 and the one in 2017).   At the meadows 2 on 31st May 2019 and singles on 17th May and 18th June 2020.

Buff Long-horn Nematopogon metaxella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 31st May 2019

Buff Long-horn Nematopogon metaxella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 17th May 2020

Large Long-horn Nematopogon swammerdamella - One with a broken antenna in my garden moth trap on 2nd June 2019 was only my second here (following one in 2017).  None elsewhere this year and none anywhere in 2020.

Large Long-horn Nematopogon swammerdamella, North Elmham, 2nd June 2019

Next page: Incurvariidae plus

Bluebell Conch, a new hoverfly and some beetles

I forgot to add this photo of a Muslin Moth to my last post - I don't recall seeing the pale patches on this species before though it seems that they do vary a bit in this respect.

Muslin Moth, North Elmham, 10th May

On 11th May I discovered Meadow Long-horn Cauchas rufimitrella on Garlic Mustard at Ryburgh, only the second site I've seen this species.  Also Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana.

Meadow Long-horn Cauchas rufimitrella, Ryburgh, 11th May

I then headed up to Thursford Wood where I hoped to find two scarce Norfolk species - Hysterophora maculosana on the Bluebells and, a bit more ambitiously as there are no modern records in Norfolk, Coleophora lutarea on the Greater Stitchwort.  The bluebells were beautiful but I couldn't find either species among them.

Bluebells, Thursford Wood, 11th May

I did find a few moths including 5 Large Long-horns Nematopogon swammerdamella, Green Long-horn Adela reaumurella, Oak Satin Lift Heliozela sericiella and 2 Cocksfoot Moths Glyphipterix simpliciella.  But it wasn't until I'd left the main bluebell area and was walking through a relatively bare patch of woodland that I spotted one of my targets, Bluebell Conch Hysterophora maculosana in flight, and duly netted it to confirm. Looks like this may only be the third vice-county record following two last year (the first of which I found at Bittering).

Bluebell Conch Hysterophora maculosana, Thursford Wood, 11th May

I also saw a Maiden's Blush near the rhododendrons which were looking splendid.

Maiden's Blush, Thursford Wood, 11th May

Rhododendron, Thursford Wood, 11th May

I also found this bug which I eventually resolved as Anthocoris nemorum, a species I'd not identified previously.

Anthocoris nemorum, Thursford Wood, 11th May

I saw one Large Red Damselfly here and 10 more at Brancaster where I headed next (along with 2 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana) and another at Titchwell Chalkpit.

As yet I haven't been able to put a name to this spider at home:

unidentified Spider, North Elmham, 11th May

That night was better than of late with 19 moths of 14 species, though still pretty rubbish for this time of year.  New for the year here were 2 Beech Midgets Phyllonorycter maestingella, Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana, Small Magpie Anania hortulata and 2 Common Pugs. The others were 3 Little Dwarfs Elachista canapennella, 2 Brindled Flat-bodies Agonopterix arenella, Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea, Garden Carpet, Green Carpet, White Ermine, Muslin Moth, Cinnabar, Flame Shoulder and Hebrew Character.  There was also the caddisfly Glyphotaelius pellucidus and a Black Sexton Beetle.

Beech Midgets Phyllonorycter maestingella (males, gen det), North Elmham, 11th May

Small Magpie Anania hortulata, North Elmham, 11th May

Common Pug, North Elmham, 11th May

Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea, North Elmham, 11th May

Next day I headed up to Burnham Overy where Stoat and Natterjack were among the non-avian highlights.  Moths consisted of Plain Fanner Glyphipterix fuscoviridella, Yellow Belle and 2 Cinnabars - and quite a few Spindle Ermine Yponomeuta cagnagella larvae.

Yellow Belle, Burnham Overy, 12th May

I stopped off at Ryburgh on the way home and found 3 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana and a Sulphur Tubic Esperia sulphurella.  There was also a Common Carder Bee and the hoverfly Platycheirus manicatus, a new one for me.

Platycheirus manicatus, Ryburgh, 12th May

I retained 3 beetles for identifying at home.  Perhaps I should have been able to manage the Cantharis decipiens in the field (where I think it was one of a number on Hawthorn flowers) but I certainly wouldn't have been able to do the other two without careful keying out under the microscope - unsurprisingly (as I haven't been doing this for long) both were new to me: the ground beetle Amara anthobia and the leaf beetle Phaedon armoraciae.

Cantharis decipiens, Ryburgh, 12th May

Amara anthobia, Ryburgh, 12th May

Phaedon armoraciae, Ryburgh, 12th May

Lolly Longhorn

Meadow Long-horn is one of those moths that has been on my radar for a while but which I'd not managed to find.  Photos on Twitter by Mark Clements of one on Cuckoo Flowers near Sheringham made me think.  Lolly Moor has Cuckoo Flower - I bet they're there.  So on Sunday afternoon a brief spell of brightness was enough to get me down to Lolly Moor with Dave.  First observation, apart from the mass of Grass Rivulets (50+) was that there wasn't so much Cuckoo Flower there as I'd thought.  There was a bit, and I checked it but to no avail.

A few other moths were flying.  It wasn't long before we'd seen the first of at least 14 Cinereous Pearls Anania fuscalis.  One in the Attleborough square in 1996 was the first post-Victorian record in Norfolk and there were no more until Dave found some here at Lolly Moor last year.  Great to see they're still thriving this year and shows the importance of what is quite a poorly-known and very small NWT reserve.

Cinereous Pearl Anania fuscalis, Lolly Moor, 22nd May

A couple of weeks ago we'd found Knapweed Conches Epiblema cirsiana here and today at least 6 were seen again.  I took one home to check it and that proved quite interesting.  The best feature for males is the colour of the hindwing - very dark in cirsiana and paler in scutulana (it's dark on both species for females).  This wasn't very dark so by rights should have been scutulana, but I don't think it was.  It was a small moth - way smaller than the bottom end of the quoted size range of scutulana, and it lacked the extensive white at the rear dorsal corner of the wings that is apparent in most (not all) photos of scutulana and apparently not in cirsiana.  The male genitalia are extremely similar (I can't see any difference in photos) so that doesn't help but in view of the size, overall appearance and the fact that there are definitely cirsiana there makes me think it was cirsiana, and the reason for its not-too-dark hindwing being wear - it was quite a worn individual.

presumed Knapweed Bell Epiblema cirsiana, Lolly Moor, 22nd May

Many of the Buttercups scattered around the fen supported a few Plain Golds Micropterix calthella - I rough-counted 180 of them altogether.  Interestingly the dense stand of buttercups near the entrance didn't have a single moth on them.  Different species of Buttercup perhaps - I didn't check.  Quite a few (at least 8) Common Marbles Celypha lacunana were seen - my first this year.

Common Marble Celypha lacunana, Lolly Moor, 22nd May

Other moths included Swan-feather Dwarf Elachista argentella, Green Carpet and Scorched Carpet, and then we found a tiny Hemp-agrimony Plume Adaina microdactyla.

Hemp-agrimony Plume Adaina microdactyla (male, gen det), Lolly Moor, 22nd May

We were nearly done when I checked one last Cuckoo Flower and there on it was the moth I went there looking for, my first ever Meadow Long-horn Cauchas rufimitrella.

Meadow Long-horn Cauchas rufimitrella, Lolly Moor, 22nd May

Around the same time I netted a small moth that turned out to be another new moth for me, Triple-striped Piercer Grapholita compositella.

Triple-striped Piercer Grapholita compositella, Lolly Moor, 22nd May

This Drinker caterpillar was by the path on the way out.

Drinker, Lolly Moor, 22nd May

Not bad for an hour or so's work at a small reserve 10 minutes from home.