Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Prominents (Notodontidae) - part 2: Prominents and Buff- and Chocolate-tips

PROMINENTS, KITTENS and allies (NOTODONTIDAE)


Iron Prominent Notodonta dromedarius - One caught in the garden on 1st May 2019 and then 3 singles between 21st July and 26th August.  In 2020 singles on 30th April, 18th May and 12th August.  3-5 here in a year is typical but there were 19 in 2016 and none in 2017.  One at Sculthorpe Moor on 26th April 2019 was my earliest ever and first April record.  Elsewhere singles at Weybourne, Swanton Great Wood and Row Heath (West Runton) in 2019 and 2 at Hills and Holes in 2020.

Iron Prominent, Sculthorpe Moor, 26th April 2019

Iron Prominent, North Elmham, 1st May 2019

Iron Prominent, North Elmham, 30th April 2020

Pebble Prominent Notodonta ziczac - 5 trapped in the garden between 21st June and 2nd August 2019 and then singles on 22nd May, 22nd July and 6th August 2020.  These low totals were better than 2018 (2) but well short of my yearly average of over 10.  Elsewhere one next door on 27th August 2019, one at the meadows on 22nd April 2019 and one at Bintree Wood on 24th July 2020.

Pebble Prominent, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 22nd April 2019

Great Prominent Peridea anceps - One in the garden moth trap on 24th May 2020.  I've caught this species at home 3 times before (2015, 2016 and 2018).  Elsewhere one caught at Benhall (Suffolk) on 10th May 2019 and one at Hills and Holes on 21st May 2020.

Great Prominent, Hills and Holes, 21st May 2020

Great Prominent, North Elmham, 24th May 2020

Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula - Totals of 5 in the garden between 26th April and 29th August 2019 and 9 between 11th April (my earliest ever) and 16th May 2020.  These were my worst totals in 6 years - I've averaged 16-17 a year.  Elsewhere 3 next door, 6 at the meadows on 6 dates, one at Bintree Wood, 2 at Swanton Great Wood, one at Sculthorpe Moor, one at Hills and Holes and one at Benhall (Suffolk).

Swallow Prominent, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 22nd April 2019

Swallow Prominent, North Elmham, 26th April 2019

Swallow Prominent, North Elmham, 11th April 2020

Swallow Prominent, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 17th May 2020

Lesser Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula - Totals of 16 trapped here between 25th April and 23rd  August 2019 and 20 between 15th April and 23rd August 2020 - 20 a year is about average.  Elsewhere singles next door on 3 nights, 2 at Weybourne, 1 at Row Heath (West Runton) (my latest ever, on 31st August), one at Benhall (Suffolk) and one on Mull, all in 2019.

Lesser Swallow Prominent, North Elmham, 25th April 2019

Lesser Swallow Prominent (left) and Swallow Prominent (right), Benhall (Suffolk), 10th May 2019

Lesser Swallow Prominent, North Elmham, 15th April 2020

Pale Prominent Pterostoma palpina - Totals of 9 in the garden between 4th July and 21st August 2019 and 8 between 8th May and 30th July 2020 - my worst years so far (average 20 a year).  Elsewhere my earliest ever at Sculthorpe Moor on 26th April 2019 and one at the meadows each year.

Pale Prominent, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

Pale Prominent, North Elmham, 8th May 2020

Pale Prominent, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 18th July 2020

Coxcomb Prominent Ptilodon capucina - Totals of 22 here between 20th May and 24th August 2019 and 18 between 31st May and 14th August 2020.  These were my worst showings but in 6 years but I've never had more than 28.  Elsewhere one next door, one at Hills and Holes and one on Mull.

Coxcomb Prominent, North Elmham, 20th May 2019

Coxcomb Prominent, Hills and Holes, 21st May 2020

Maple Prominent Ptilodon cucullina - None.  I caught 3 here (and one next-door) in 2016 but haven't had them here in any other year.  Interestingly 2016 doesn't seem to have been an especially good year elsewhere in Norfolk.


Buff-tip Phalera bucephala - Totals of 18 trapped in the garden between 26th May and 3rd August 2019 and 41 between 24th April (my earliest ever) and 22nd July 2020.  2020 was my second best year in 6, though well short of the impressive 85 caught in 2015.  Elsewhere singles at the meadows, Bintree Wood and Weybourne and 5 at Carsaig (Mull).

Buff-tip, North Elmham, 1st July 2019

Buff-tip, North Elmham, 17th May 2020

Buff-tip, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 23rd June 2020

Chocolate-tip Clostera curtula - One in the garden trap on 1st May 2019 and 5 between 26th April and 23rd May 2020.  I only had one in 2017 too but in other years I've caught between 8 and 12.

Chocolate-tip, North Elmham, 1st May 2019

Chocolate-tip, North Elmham, 26th April 2020

Next page: Erebidae

A Tiger with no stripes

Went birding at Minsmere last Saturday.  Didn't see much of non-avian interest - a few common butterflies and 7 Red Deer, plus this caterpillar in the dunes which I think has to be Cream-spot Tiger (but please correct me if I'm wrong).

Cream-spot Tiger, Minsmere, 7th May

That night's moth trapping at home produced 3 new for the year: Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella and Coxcomb Prominent.

Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, North Elmham, 7th May

Coxcomb Prominent, North Elmham, 7th May

The other moths were 4 Streamers, Brindled Pug, Brindled Beauty, 2 Waved Umbers, Pebble Prominent, 2 Lesser Swallow Prominents, Swallow Prominent, Chocolate-tip, Pale Tussock, Muslin Moth, 4 Hebrew Characters and Early Grey.

Chocolate-tip, North Elmham, 7th May

Caddisflies included Glyphotaelius pellucidus and 2 Limnephilus auricula.  This wasp was in the trap, seemingly a German Wasp judging from the facial markings and large size.  Apparently German Wasps are native the the UK, despite their name.  Mind you, I doubt if that would stop Boris or Farage using them to support their case for Brexit if they knew about them - facts aren't important if you can play on fears, as any Trump will tell you.

German Wasp, North Elmham, 7th May

I hoped to put a name to this one too, but have failed to do so.  I think it's possibly one of the Brachonid family of parasitic wasps but not sure about that.

unidentified insect, possibly one of the Brachonid wasps, North Elmham, 7th May

Carpatolechia fugitivella - first modern county record

On Thursday 25th June I caught 82 species of moth at home.  I've only just finished sorting out those that needed dissections and among these was a Gelechiid I didn't recognise.  I eventually narrowed it down to the genus Carpatolechia and found two species that can share the general appearance.  I came across a similar fugitivella first and the description in MOGBI checked out perfectly.  In particular its closest confusion species (notalella) was easily eliminated because notalella lacks the scale tufts that were evident on mine.  But fugitivella hasn't been recorded in Norfolk since the 1800s so I needed to check other species more carefully.  In doing so I came across a picture of decorella which looked extremely similar.  The references seem to think this species is easily identified by a dark bar on the costa near the base.  Well mine had a small oblong dark mark along the costa near the base, but it didn't look quite as long as supposed to be shown by decorella - and fuitivella also shows a dark spot here, so I wasn't quite sure.  The detailed description of decorella in MOGBI seemed to have some anomalies, like mine didn't show furrows on segment 2 of the labial palpus when viewed through the microscope.  Fortunately the genitalia diagrams here and on the Dissection Group looked significantly different, at least in one respect (very long processes reaching the tip of the uncus in fugitivella) and on dissection mine matched Elm Groundling Carpatolechia fugitivella perfectly, the first Norfolk record for 116 years!  Shame this insect had been too active to let me photograph it out of the pot - here's the best I could manage while it was alive...

Elm Groundling Carpatolechia fugitivella, North Elmham, 25th June

And for those who do dissections, here are its bits.  You can see one of the long processes left of the uncus but the other one broke off during preparation.

Elm Groundling Carpatolechia fugitivella (male genitalia), North Elmham, 25th June

Nothing else terribly exciting among the rest of the catch, though several new for the year for the house: White Sallow Case-bearer Coleophora albidella (gen det), Black-headed Dwarf Elachista atricomella, 2 Flax Tortrices Cnephasia asseclana, 3 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Grass-veneer Crambus pascuella, 2 Water Veneers Acentria ephemerella, Marsh Grey Eudonia pallida, Yellow Shell, 3 Double Square-spots, Poplar Grey and 2 Small Fan-foots.

 White Sallow Case-bearer Coleophora albidella (male gen det), North Elmham, 25th June

Black-headed Dwarf Elachista atricomella, North Elmham, 25th June

Flax Tortrix Cnephasia asseclana (female, gen det), North Elmham, 25th June

Yellow Shell, North Elmham, 25th June

Double Square-spot, North Elmham, 25th June

Poplar Grey, North Elmham, 25th June

Small Fan-foot, North Elmham, 25th June

Plenty more to keep me busy!  The other macros were Common Swift, 2 Dwarf Cream Waves, 3 Treble Brown Spots, 2 Riband Waves, Large Twin-spot Carpet, Silver-ground Carpet, Garden Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, Green Carpet, Sharp-angled Carpet, Sandy Carpet, 2 Mottled Pugs, 3 Common Pugs, Grey Pug, Green Pug, Clouded Border, 2 Scorched Wings, 6 Brimstone Moths, Peppered Moth, 8 Willow Beauties, Common White Wave, Clouded Silver, 3 Light Emeralds, Elephant Hawkmoth, Coxcomb Prominent, Marbled Brown, Buff-tip, Orange Footman, 9 Common Footmen, White Ermine, 6 Buff Ermines, 3 Cinnabars, Heart and Club, 2 Flame Shoulders, 2 Large Yellow Underwings, 2 Ingrailed Clays, Bright-line Brown-eye, Lychnis, Clay, 3 Common Wainscots, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, 7 Brown Rustics, 2 Dark Arches, Marbled Minor (gen det), 8 Middle-barred Minors, 4 Treble Lines, 4 Uncertains, Mottled Rustic, 2 Beautiful Hook-tips, 10 Straw Dots and 2 Snouts. 

Coxcomb Prominent, North Elmham, 25th June

And the other micros were 2 Cypress Tip Moths Argyresthia cupressella, Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella (gen det), Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella (gen det), Brown House-moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, Cinereous Groundling Bryotropha terrella, 2 Hook-marked Straw Moths Agapeta hamana, Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis cerasana, Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana, Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, 2 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 7 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 2 Plum Tortrices Hedya pruniana, 2 Marbled Orchard Tortrices Hedya nubiferana, Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, 6 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 4 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, Small Magpie Eurrhypara hortulata and 3 Bee Moths Aphomia sociella.

Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 25th June