Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Case-bearers (Coleophoridae) (Part 4)

CASE-BEARERS (COLEOPHORIDAE) continued


Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella - Totals of 128 trapped at home between 25th May and 29th June 2019 and 79 between 20th May and 22nd June 2020, although on the busiest days some of these were not gen detted.  Peaks of 28 on 3rd and 7th June 2019 and 14 on 26th May and 12th June 2020.  2019 was my best year for this species although I had a higher count of 51 in 2018.  This is my commonest Coleophora here.  Also 12 confirmed from the Cathedral Meadows and singles at Bintree Wood, Frost's Common and Hills and Holes.  Typically this species is distinctly plainer (other than the pale costa) than alticolella and glaucicolella however there is variation.  Very occasionally a plain individual turns out to be one of the other species and caespititiella can have faint pale streaking inside the costa, albeit rarely as clear as it usually is on the other 2 species.

male Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham, 25th May 2019

male and female Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham, 7th June 2019

female Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham, 16th June 2019

female Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham, 20th May 2020

female Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June 2020

female Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella, North Elmham, 13th June 2020

Jointed-rush Case-bearer Coleophora tamesis - None.  I've never seen this species but although it's described as rare there are records from a little further up the valley so it's a possibility here.


Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella - 2 at the meadows on 25th May followed by 1 here on 1st June and another 10 here between 6th and 23rd July.  Also 2 at Weybourne.  11 here is a good tally - numbers fluctuate quite a lot with 17 in 2016 but only singles in 2017 and 2018.  A similar pattern in 2020 with the first at the meadows (on 17th May) well before those at home (5 between 26th June and 23rd July).

male Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

female Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella, North Elmham, 1st June 2019

male Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella, North Elmham, 16th July 2019

male Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella, North Elmham, 26th June 2020

female Grey Rush Case-bearers Coleophora glaucicolella, North Elmham, 22nd July 2020

Wood-rush Case-bearer Coleophora otidipennella - None.  I've only ever had one here, in 2017.


Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella - 8 trapped here between 25th May and 23rd June 2019 and 14 between 21st May and 15th June 2020, my best years for this species here (previous annual totals varying from 1-5).  Also recorded at the meadows on 6 dates.

male Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham, 3rd June 2019

female Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham, 23rd June 2019

female Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham, 21st May 2020

male Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham, 31st May 2020

male Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June 2020

female Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, North Elmham, 15th June 2020

Small Rush Case-bearer Coleophora taeniipennella - One caught in the garden on 23rd July 2019, my third following singles here in 2016 and 2017.  None in 2020.

male Small Rush Case-bearer Coleophora taeniipennella, North Elmham, 23rd July

Black Bindweed Case-bearer Coleophora therinella - One trapped at Weybourne on 5th July 2019, the 9th record for Norfolk.  Despite the paucity of records I've had this species here in 2016 and twice at my last house in Bawdeswell (when I was only retaining a minority of Coleophora for confirmation). 

male Black Bindweed Case-bearer Coleophora therinella, Weybourne, 5th July 2019

Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella - A new moth for the garden when one was trapped on 4th August 2019, followed by a second on 9th August and a third on 9th August 2020.  Also one at Weybourne on 5th July 2019.  Although this species requires gen detting to separate from the next species, the small size and pale costa was a strong clue on a couple of these.

female Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella, Weybourne, 5th July

female Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella, North Elmham, 4th August

male Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella, North Elmham, 9th August

female Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella, North Elmham, 9th August 2020

Speckled Case-bearer Coleophora sternipennella - Just the one in 2019, here on 16th July, and none in 2020.  Only one in 2018 too but I have had as many as 12 in a year (2016).

female Speckled Case-bearer Coleophora sternipennella, North Elmham, 16th July 2019

Pale Orache Case-bearer Coleophora versurella - Singles in the garden trap on 25th July 2019 and 7th August 2020, and one at the meadows on 18th July 2020.  I had only ever recorded one before, and never here in North Elmham.

male Pale Orache Case-bearer Coleophora versurella, North Elmham, 25th July 2019

female Pale Orache Case-bearer Coleophora versurella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 18th July 2020

male Pale Orache Case-bearer Coleophora versurella, North Elmham, 7th August 2020

Next page: more Coleophora

Coleophora City

The most numerous moth in the trap on Sunday 28th May was Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella - there were 20 of them.  Lurking among them was another Coleophora, slightly different in appearance.  This one proved to be Wood-rush Case-bearer Coleophora otidipennella, a new one for the house, and indeed for the 10k square.  There are fewer than 20 records in Norfolk and apart from one at Holme all come from either the Brecks or the Broads, so good to get one well outside its recorded range.

Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 28th May

Wood-rush Case-bearer Coleophora otidipennella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 28th May

The following moths were new for the year here: Skin Moth Monopis laevigella, Yellow-spot Tortrix Pseudargyrotoza conwagana, Crescent Bell Epinotia bilunana, Marsh Grey Eudonia pallida, Small Seraphim, Ingrailed Clay and Setaceous Hebrew Character.

Skin Moth Monopis laevigella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 28th May

Yellow-spot Tortrix Pseudargyrotoza conwagana, North Elmham, 28th May

Crescent Bell Epinotia bilunana, North Elmham, 28th May

Small Seraphim, North Elmham, 28th May

Ingrailed Clay, North Elmham, 28th May

Other moths were Ribwort Slender Aspilapteryx tringipennella, 2 Light Brown Apple Moths Epiphyas postvittana, 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, Yellow-faced Bell Notocelia cynosbatella, 2 Triple-blotched Bells Notocelia trimaculana, 2 Hook-streaked Grass-Veneers Crambus lathoniellus, Meadow Grey Scoparia pyralella, Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis, Garden Pebble Evergestis forficalis, 3 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, 2 False Cacao Moths Ephestia unicolorella, Chalk Knot-horn Phycitodes maritima, 5 Common Swifts, Blood-vein, Red Twin-spot Carpet, 6 Silver-ground Carpets, Garden Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, 7 Green Carpets, 2 Small Rivulets, 3 Mottled Pugs, 3 Common Pugs, Brown Silver-line, 3 Scorched Wings, Pale Oak Beauty, 5 Light Emeralds, Pale Tussock, Orange Footman, White Ermine, 2 Buff Ermines, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Flame Shoulder, Small Square-spot, Nutmeg, Shears, Bright-line Brown-eye, 2 Brown Rustics, 11 Treble Lines, 2 Straw Dots and Small Fan-foot.

dark form of Common Marble Celypha lacunana (male, gen det), North Elmham, 28th May

Shears - also darker than normal (male, gen det), North Elmham, 28th May

Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, North Elmham, 28th May

There was a variety of by-catch too including the Mayflies Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum and Pale Evening Dun Procloeon bifidum, the caddisflies Cyrnus flavidus, Hydropsyche siltalai, Hydropsyche pellucidula (new for the year), Glyphotaelius pellucidus and Limnephilus lunatus (new for the year).   Two beetles too - a Harlequin Ladybird and the soldier beetle Cantharis nigricans, the latter my first positively identified here.

sub-imago Pale Evening Dun Proloeon bifidum, North Elmham, 28th May

Cantharis nigricans, North Elmham, 28th May

Silo pallipes - a new caddisfly

The highlight on the night of 25th May was a Small Clouded Brindle.  I could have sworn I'd seen these here before but it turns out I hadn't - indeed I'd only seen one before anywhere.

Small Clouded Brindle, North Elmham, 25th May

Four other species were new for the year: 7 Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella, 2 Triple-blotched Bells Notocelia trimaculana, Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, and Pale Oak Beauty.

Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 25th May

Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, North Elmham, 25th May

Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, North Elmham, 25th May

Pale Oak Beauty, North Elmham, 25th May

Other moths that night were Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Common Cosmet Mompha epilobiella, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, Yellow-faced Bell Notocelia cynosbatella, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, 4 Common Swifts, Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet, Silver-ground Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, 2 Green Carpets, 3 Common Pugs, Clouded Border, 2 Brimstone Moths, White-pinion Spotted, Light Emerald, Eyed Hawk-moth, 2 White Ermines, 3 Cinnabars, Bright-line Brown-eye, Brown Rustic, Marbled Minor, 9 Treble Lines and Spectacle. Also Common Earwig and Cockchafer.

Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (female, gen det), North Elmham, 25th May

Next day there were Azure, Common Blue and Large Red Damseflies at Ryburgh where moths included Yellow-barred Long-horn Nemophora degeerella, Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana and Green Carpet.

Yellow-barred Long-horn Nemophora degeerella, Ryburgh, 26th May

Common Blue Damselfly, Ryburgh, 26th May

Following on from the 7 on 25th I trapped 13 Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella on 26th - easily a record count, though that would be beaten a couple of nights later.

New species for the year were Bird's-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, 3 Hook-streaked Grass-Veneers Crambus lathoniellus, Fenland Pearl Anania perlucidalis, Blood-vein, May Highflyer, Brown Silver-line, Buff-tip, Rustic Shoulder-knot and 2 Straw Dots.

Bird's-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, North Elmham, 26th May

Hook-streaked Grass-veneer Crambus lathoniellus, North Elmham, 26th May

Fenland Pearl Anania perlucidalis, North Elmham, 26th May

Blood-vein, North Elmham, 26th May

May Highflyer, North Elmham, 26th May

Brown Silver-line, North Elmham, 26th May

Buff-tip, North Elmham, 26th May

Rustic Shoulder-knot, North Elmham, 26th May

Other moths that night were Yellow-triangle Slender Caloptilia alchimiella, Dark-barred Tortrix Syndemis musculana, 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 2 Plum Tortrixes Hedya pruniana, 2 Rush Marbles Bactra lancealana, 2 Yellow-faced Bells Notocelia cynosbatella, Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, Meadow Grey Scoparia pyralella, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 2 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, 4 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, False Cacao Moth Ephestia unicolorella, Common Swift, Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet, 3 Silver-ground Carpets, 2 Common Marbled Carpets, 2 Green Carpets, Sandy Carpet, Mottled Pug, 14 Common Pugs, Clouded Border, Brimstone Moth, 2 Waved Umbers, Pale Oak Beauty, White-pinion Spotted, 2 Light Emeralds, Pale Tussock, 2 Orange Footmen, 4 White Ermines, Buff Ermine, 5 Cinnabars, Least Black Arches, Heart and Dart, Shuttle-shaped Dart, 2 Brown Rustics, Clouded-bordered Brindle, 13 Treble Lines and Spectacle.

Least Black Arches, North Elmham, 26th May

The only beetle was a Cockchafer but two caddisflies included a new one for me, Silo pallipes (also Glyphotaelius pellucidus).

Silo pallipes (male), North Elmham, 26th May