Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Tortrix Moths (Tortricidae) (Part 12: Drills and Piercers I (Dichrorampha to Cydia))

TORTRIX MOTHS (TORTRICIDAE) (continued)


Lead-coloured Drill Dichrorampha plumbana - Found at the meadows on 27th May and 20th June 2020.  None in 2019 and I've not found this species at home yet, probably because it doesn't seem to come to light very readily (nearly all of my records have been netted during the afternoon).

male Lead-coloured Drill Dichrorampha plumbana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 27th May 2020

male Lead-coloured Drill Dichrorampha plumbana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th June 2020

Dingy Drill Dichrorampha sedetana - None.  I've never seen this one but although there aren't many records in Norfolk the same was true of plumbana and aeratana when I started finding them.


Obscure Drill Dichrorampha aeratana - Found at the meadows on 25th and 27th May 2020.  None in 2019 and like plumbana I've not recorded this species at home and have only found it during the afternoons/evenings.

male Obscure Drill Dichrorampha aeratana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2020

male Obscure Drill Dichrorampha aeratana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 27th May 2020

Sharp-winged Drill Dichrorampha acuminatana - Caught in the garden on 8th August (2) and 23rd August 2019, my first here in 3 years (though I'd had 1-3 in each of 2014 to 2016).  3 again in 2020 with one on 8th May and 2 on 10th August  Also recorded next door twice in August 2019.  6 at the meadows were mostly in May, just one in August.

male Sharp-winged Drill Dichrorampha acuminatana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th May 2019

male Sharp-winged Drill Dichrorampha acuminatana, North Elmham, 23rd August 2019

male Sharp-winged Drill Dichrorampha acuminatana, North Elmham, 8th May 2020

male Sharp-winged Drill Dichrorampha acuminatana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 27th May 2020

Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana - Trapped in the garden on 23rd July (2) and 5th August 2019.  Like the previous species these were my first here since 2016, but that gap was even more unexpected in light of the 17 I recorded here in 2015-16.  2020 was a real bumper year for this species here, completely unprecedented - I caught 75 between 15th June and 23rd August including 15 on 11th August.  Also 2 at the meadows on 13th July 2019 but despite the large numbers in my garden in 2020 only one at the meadows on the relatively late date of 30th August.  Although the differences in wing-shape between this and the previous species can be reasonably obvious I still find some individuals are confusing and with the additional risk of overlooking some of the scarcer Dichrorampha I resort to checking many by referring to their genitalia.  In fact in 2020 I started to feel more comfortable with them but when the numbers were getting so large and other moth-trappers weren't reporting unusual numbers of this species I started to doubt myself again and resorted to checking  more again.  Fortunately these all proved to be correctly so I quickly reverted to checking a minority of less clear-cut individuals.  However, I still think there is plenty of opportunity to go wrong with these - although I don't think there were any suspected simpliciana that proved to be anything else on dissection there were 3-4 suspected acuminatana that proved to be simliciana on dissection.

male Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th July 2019

female Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, North Elmham, 23rd July 2019

male Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, North Elmham, 5th August 2019

male Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, North Elmham, 26th June 2020

male Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, North Elmham, 22nd July 2020

female Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, North Elmham, 5th August 2020

male Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, North Elmham, 7th August 2020

male Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, North Elmham, 10th August 2020

Square-spot Drill Dichrorampha sequana - None.  I've only seen this species at one site in Great Ryburgh (where there were 3 along a verge) but I should imagine it must occur closer to home as well.


Gold-fringed Drill Dichrorampha vancouverana - None.  I haven't seen this species since 2013 and there aren't any records local to here, but there's no reason why it shouldn't turn up round here.


Narrow-blotch Drill Dichrorampha flavidorsana - None.  I'm yet to see this species.  In theory it could occur round here but I haven't got any Tansy on my patch so perhaps not as likely as some of the other species missing from my local area.


Broad-blotch Drill Dichrorampha alpinana - One found resting on some Field Maple at the meadows on 25th May 2020.  I had singles of this species in the garden in 3 consecutive years 2015-2017 but not since.

male Broad-blotch Drill Dichrorampha alpinana, North Elmham, 25th May 2020

Common Drill Dichrorampha petiverella - None.  Despite seeing 10 at 3 sites in 2013 I haven't seen this species since.  It's not far away but I haven't yet seen it in the North Elmham area.


Silver-lined Drill Dichrorampha plumbagana - None.  This species seems to be cropping up more often recently so I am optimistic that I will find one locally before too long.


Pea Moth Cydia nigricana - 3 at the meadows on 22nd-25th May 2019 and 2 there on 8th May 2020.  I've not seen this at home yet but that's not surprising for a species mainly found in the afternoons rather than being attracted to light, though I did get one come to light at Bintree Wood on 13th June 2020 so it's not impossible!

female Pea Moth Cydia nigricana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 22nd May 2019

female Pea Moth Cydia nigricana, Bintree Wood, 13th June 2020

Grey Gorse Piercer Cydia ulicetana - None in 2019 (must be one of the commonest moths I didn't see that year) and just 2 in 2020 (one at the meadows on 15th May and one at Frost's Common on 21st May).  I've only ever had one in my garden (2017).

female Grey Gorse Piercer Cydia ulicetana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th May 2020

Grey Gorse Piercer Cydia ulicetana, Forst's Common, 21st May 2020

Pine-cone Piercer Cydia conicolana - None.  I've only seen one of these and that wasn't confirmed (someone took it away to gen det but I never heard back about it), so it's a species I'd be keen to see again.  There are no records very close to here though (Keith's 2020 record at Litcham is closest), so not sure what my chances of finding it locally are.  I'd be equally or even more happy to find any of the other scarcer conifer-feeding Cydia round here, the only ones of which I've ever seen anywhere are Norfolk's only Larch Piercer Cydia illutana and the cosmophorana below.


Scarce Pine Piercer Cydia cosmophorana - One at Hills and Holes on 21st May 2020 was the first time I've encountered this species.  There were 5 records in Norfolk in 2020 but only 6 prior to 2020.

female Scarce Pine Piercer Cydia cosmophorana, Hills and Holes, 21st May 2020

Codling Moth Cydia pomonella - 3 in the garden between 9th and 24th July 2019 and 6 between 25th June and 12th August 2020.  I've had between 2 and 8 of these each year since I've lived here.  Elsewhere one at Weybourne on 5th July 2019.


Sallow-shoot Piercer Cydia servillana - One netted at Frost's Common on 21st May 2020, the first moth seen on arrival and the 5th record for Norfolk.  I'm still hoping for a repeat of my 2018 record at the meadows.

Sallow-shoot Piercer Cydia servillana, Frost's Common, 21st May 2020

Next page: more Tortricidae

A good afternoon at the meadows

Had a wander round the Cathedral Meadows at North Elmham on the afternoon/evening of 3rd June and found a decent selection of wildlife.  Dragonflies included 2 Emperors and butterflies included a Common Blue; there were two displaying Green Drakes (Mayflies) Ephemera danica, the green lacewing Chrysopa perla, a Coniopterix Waxfly (a female so not identifable to species) and the Scorpion Fly Panorpa communis.

Common Blue Damselfly, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Chrysopa perla, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Plenty of moths, the highlights of which were 2 Pea Moths Cydia nigricana, Obscure Drill Dichrorampha aeratana and Small Yellow Underwing in the lower meadows and White-speckled Clothes Moth Nemapogon koenigi and Black-edged Marble Endothenia nigricostana along the disused railway.

Obscure Drill Dichrorampha aeratana (male, gen det), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

White-speckled Clothes Moth Nemapogon koenigi, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Black-edged Marble Endothenia nigricostana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Other moths were Oak Carl Tischeria ekebladella, 2 Yellow-barred Long-horns Nemophora degeerella, Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana, Cocksfoot Moth Glyphipterix simpliciella, Clover Case-bearer Coleophora alcyonipennella, 2 Hedge Case-bearers Coleophora striatipennella, Common Mompha Mompha epilobiella, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, 2 Grey Gorse Piercers Cydia ulicetana, 11 Hook-streak Grass-veneers Crambus lathoniellus, Silver-ground Carpet, Cinnabar, 4 Silver Ys and 4 Straw Dots.

Oak Carl Tischeria ekebladella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Bugs included a Parent Bug and the mirid bug Psallus perrisi, and there was the barkfly Graphopsocus cruciatus.

Psallus perrisi (male, gen det), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Graphopsocus cruciatus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

A good number of beetles included 4 Garden Chafers, Cantharis rufa, Cantharis livida, 2 24-spot Ladybirds, 3 Swollen-thighed Beetles, 3 Grammoptera ruficornis, Phyllobius pomaceus and  Phyllobius roboretanus.

Garden Chafer, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Cantharis rufa, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Swollen-thighed Beetle (female), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Grammoptera ruficornis, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Phyllobius roboretanus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Hoverflies included Sphaerophoria taeniata (a new one for me), Eristalis horticola, Helophilus pendulus and Volucella bombylans.  Among the Hymenoptera were Small Black Ant Lasius niger, the sawfly Tenthredo arcuata, Tree Bumblebee, Common Carder Bee and Early Bumblebee.

Spaerophoria taeniata, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Helophilus pendulus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Volucella bombylans, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Tenthredo arcuata, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Tree Bumblebee, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

Early Bumblebee, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd June

I managed to identify two spiders - Common Cucumber Spider Araniella cucurbitina and Metellina mengei.

Cucumber Spiders Araniella sp. - the lower one seemed to check out as a female cucurbitina

Freyer's Pug and Small Angle Shades were the only new moths for the year at home that night.

Freyer's Pug, North Elmham, 3rd June

Small Angle Shades, North Elmham, 3rd June

Other moths were 2 Light Brown Apple-moths Epiphyas postvittana, 4 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Plum Tortrix Hedya pruniana, 2 Rush Marbles Bactra lancealana, Common Birch Bell Epinotia immundana, 3 Yellow-faced Bells Notocelia cynosbatella, Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella, 9 Hook-streak Grass-veneers Crambus lathoniellus, Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis, 2 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, 2 Lesser Pearls Sitochroa verticalis, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, 3 Common Swifts, 3 Pebble Hook-tips, Blood-vein, Treble Brown Spot, Flame Carpet, 4 Silver-ground Carpets, 2 Garden Carpets, 3 Green Carpets, May Highflyer, Currant Pug, 4 Common Pugs, Clouded Border, Pale Oak Beauty, Common Wave, 2 Light Emeralds, 2 Poplar Hawk-moths, Swallow Prominent, Marbled Brown, 9 White Ermines, Cinnabar, 7 Heart and Darts, 2 Ingrailed Clays, Bright-line Brown-eye, 6 Common Wainscots, 3 Brown Rustics, 4 Treble Lines, 5 Mottled Rustics, Silver Y and 8 Straw Dots.

There was also the Mayfly Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum, the caddisflies Mottled Sedge Glyphotaelius pellucidus and Limnephilus lunatus and a Water Boatman that was new for the house: Callicorixa praeusta.

Callicorixa praeusta, North Elmham, 3rd June

An oasis of wildlife in a new development

I'd never been to Queen's Hill before.  I'd heard a fair bit about it, largely thanks to the impressive variety of moths that Matthew Casey and friends have found there, but I only knew it as a new housing estate on the outskirts of Norwich.  After trying for Clearwings at New Costessey on Saturday afternoon Dave and I tried our luck at Queen's Hill.  Dave had been here before and among other things had seen Small Yellow Underwings, a striking macro moth that I'd never seen, so being in the area it seemed like a good opportunity to see what all the fuss was about.

We arrived to find a bank of wildflower-rich grassland surrounding a 'storm pond' with scrub surround.  It looked good and we were soon kicking up more Dichrorampha than we could shake a stick at.  In no time I'd found this marvellous Small Yellow Underwing, the first of two.

Small Yellow Underwing, Queen's Hill, 28th May

The various Dichrorampha had little or no dorsal blotch, though some seemed to have enough of a blotch in combination with narrow wings to identify them as Sharp-winged Drill Dichrorampha acuminatana.  I retained four that showed either a faint dorsal blotch or no dorsal blotch, suspecting that some might prove to be plumbana.  That's supposed to be a scarce species and there are only 8 records in the Norfolk Moths database for the last 20 years, though I suspect they're just poorly recorded as I've recorded them at 3 sites in the last couple of years and suspected them elsewhere without proof.  The good news was that two of the four I retained did indeed prove to be Lead-coloured Drill Dichrorampha plumbana.  The better news was that one of the others was Silver-lined Drill Dichrorampha plumbagana, a species only showing in the database as having been recorded 11 times in Norfolk, only once before in VC27, and a new species for me.  And the even better news was that the other one proved to be Obsucre Drill Dichrorampha aeratana, another lifer for me and with just 6 records showing in the database.

 Lead-coloured Drills Dichrorampha plumbana (males, gen det), Queen's Hill, 28th May

Silver-lined Drill Dichrorampha plumbagana (male, gen det), Queen's Hill, 28th May

Obscure Drill Dichrorampha aeratana (male, gen det), Queen's Hill, 28th May

Yes, I know what you're saying - they all look the same.  Well I can safely say that I would not have correctly and confidently identified those four moths without examining their genitalia!  Just goes to show the value of dissecting a selection of moths for the purposes of ID and in doing so helping to show the value of a piece of fantastic habitat.  All 4 feed on Ox-eye Daisies of which there were plenty present.

Two Plume Moths were found - the first a Triangle Plume Platyptilia gonodactyla and the second a Breckland Plume Combrugghia distans.  I had been surprised to learn that the latter were present in the area as I didn't realise their range extended this far east away from the Brecks.

Triangle Plume Platyptilia gonodactyla, Queen's Hill, 28th May

Breckland Plume Crombrugghia distans (male, gen det), Queen's Hill, 28th May

Other things in this patch included this Brown Argus and a single Bee Orchid.

Brown Argus, Queen's Hill, 28th May

Bee Orchid, Queen's Hill, 28th May

I was surprised at first to find a Dark Gorse Piercer Grapholita internana as I hadn't noticed any Gorse, but there was at least one bush at the top of the slope above where I found it.  But there was no gorse in the other meadow where I caught another Grapholita, and that one proved to be a Vetch Piercer Grapholita jungiella, only the third time I've recorded that species.

Dark Gorse Piercer Grapholita internana, Queen's Hill, 28th May

Vetch Piercer Grapholita jungiella, Queen's Hill, 28th May

The scrub turned up a few goodies too including a Thistle Bell Epiblema scutulana and, found among the leaves of its foodplant, a Colt's-foot Bell Epiblema sticticana.  That's another species that's supposed to be scarce but seems to be fairly easy to find where its foodplant is abundant.

Colt's-foot Bell Epiblema sticticana (male, gen det), Queen's Hill, 28th May

A highlight from my perspective was finding my first ever Golden Pygmy Stigmella aurella flying around some bramble.  In the identification process I was initially thrown by the fact that the base of the wings were entirely dark and only looked golden when they reflected the light at certain angles, but I got there eventually.  Not sure if the genitalia are diagnostic in females (though the large bulla seminalis, if I've identified the part correctly, doesn't seem to be present in at least some other Stigmella species?), but in any case it keyed here using the Kleine Vlinders key with each choice being a straightforward one once I realised the golden reflections were real and the wing measurements were referring to wingspan not forewing length.  Like several Stigmella species this one is extremely common with leaf-mines apparently easy to find, but the adult insect is very much more rarely encountered.

Golden Pygmy Stigmella aurella (female), Queen's Hill, 28th May

The willows at the back of the scrub provided a White-triangle Slender Caloptilia stigmatella, a species I don't find very often.

White-triangle Slender Caloptilia stigmatella, Queen's Hill, 28th May

Other moths I've not yet mentioned were 4 Cocksfoot Moths Glyphipterix simpliciella, Yarrow Conch Aethes smeathmanniana, Hook-streaked Grass-Veneer Crambus lathoniellus and Silver-ground Carpet.  A Scorpion Fly proved to be a female Panorpa germanica and Bugs included Dock Bug, a group of about half a dozen Hairy Shieldbugs and this nymph (I think) which I haven't yet been able to put a name to.

unidentified bug (I think?), Queen's Hill, 28th May