Review of 2019 and 2020 - Leafhoppers part 4: subfamily Deltocephalinae II

LEAFHOPPERS (CICADELLIDAE) continued


SUBFAMILY DELTOCEPHALINAE (continued)


Allygus mixtus - One on Oak at the meadows on 3rd August and one at Swanton Great Wood on 27th August 2019.  Added to my garden list in 2020 when I found one indoors on 12th August and one in the moth trap on 18th August.

Allygus mixtus, Swanton Great Wood, 27th August 2019

Allygus mixtus, North Elmham, 12th August 2020

Allygus mixtus, North Elmham, 19th August 2020

Euscelis incisus - Singles found at the meadows on 4 dates between 24th March and 6th May 2019 then another 2 on 22nd August.  A probable nymph there on 25th March 2020 and an adult on 8th May.

Euscelis incisus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 29th March 2019

probable Euscelis incisus nymph, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th March 2020

Euscelis incisus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 8th May 2020

Euscelis lineatus - A leafhopper found at the meadows on 20th July 2020 looked like this species but I lost it after taking photos.  I'd have preferred to have been able to examine it properly and am not sure if the ID is safe based on the photos alone so unless/until someone tells me otherwise I won't be formally recording it.  New to me if it is one.

probable Euscelis lineatus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th July 2020

Mocydiopsis attenuata - One came to light at the meadows on 22nd April 2019.

Mocydiopsis attenuata, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 22nd April 2019

Thamnotettix dilutor - Found at the meadows on 13th July 2019 and 19th August 2020.  New for my garden in 2019 when one in my moth trap on 31st July.

Thamnotettix dilutior, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th July 2019

Thamnotettix dilutior, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 19th August 2020

Lamprotettix nitidulus - Totals of 6 in my garden moth trap between 31st July and 14th October 2019 and 10 between 24th July and 29th October 2020 (including 3 on 31st July).

Lamprotettix nitidulus, North Elmham, 31st July 2019

Lamprotettix nitidulus, North Elmham, 23rd September 2019 (with a close-up of its 'Honey Monster' scutellum)

Cicadula frontalis - One in my garden moth trap on 7th August 2020 was my second record following one in 2018.

Cicadula frontalis, North Elmham, 7th August 2020

Cicadula persimilis/quadrinotata - None.  A female of one or other of these species was found at the meadows in 2018.


Opsius stactogalus - None.  I'm not sure where my nearest Tamarisk is but I caught one of these in my garden in 2018.


Grypotes puncticollis - None.  Another one I caught here in 2018.


Macrosteles sexnotatus - Confirmed males in the garden moth trap on 30th and 31st July 2019 and another at the meadows on 3rd September.  Also a likely female at the meadows on 7th July but apparently identification is not safe without reference to the male genitalia/sternal apodemes.  Three in the garden moth trap between 30th July and 11th August 2020 were all unconfirmed females as was one at the meadows (on Imperforate St John's Wort in case that makes a difference) on 30th August.  A confirmed male to light at Whitwell Street on 3rd September.

male Macrosteles sexnotatus, North Elmham, 30th July 2019

male Macrosteles sexnotatus, Whitwell Street, 3rd September 2020

Balclutha punctata - Totals of 5 in the garden moth trap between 24th July and 30th August 2019 and 3 between 5th and 21st August 2020.  Also 2 to light at Swanton Great Wood on 27th August 2019.

Balclutha punctata, North Elmham, 6th August 2019

Balclutha punctata, North Elmham, 30th August 2019

Balclutha punctata, North Elmham, 5th August 2020

Next page: more leafoppers

A new survey site: the Cathedral Meadows

I have recently been asked by members of our parish council to help surveying the Cathedral Meadows, some parish council land running between the North Elmham Chapel ruins and the railway (the chapel was formerly known as a cathedral).  They are particularly interested in my records of moths and butterflies, though of course I will be recording everything I can.  There is a small wildflower meadow on the site which they are especially interested in, but I plan to record wildlife from the whole site, and use it as an opportunity to brush up on some of the taxa I've not paid as much attention to as I would like (though for the foreseeable future there will still be some big gaps - I can't see me having time to master ichneumons any time soon for example, or most of the flies, and I'm not sure I can reaslistically hope to make much progress with mosses and lichens at the moment either).

My first proper look round was on 20th April.  I found my first dragonflies of the year, 2 teneral Large Red Damselflies.

Large Red Damselfly, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

A number of bees were active, including Orange-tailed Mining Bee, Red-tailed Bumblebee, Common Carder Bee and Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

Orange-tailed Mining Bee Andrena haemorrhoa, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

Common Carder Bee, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

Having recently acquired the Naturalists' Handbook guide to Ants I made use of it to identify a red ant as the Common Red Ant Myrmica rubra, possibly the first time I've ever made a confident species-level identification of an ant!

Common Red Ant Myrmica rubra, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

There were Dark-edged Bee-flies along the track and I identified 3 species of beetle: 7-spot Ladybrd, Pea-leaf Weevil Sitona lineatus, and a new click beetle for me, Limonius poneli (according to Mike Hackston's excellent keys this is the same species that is often recorded as Kibunea minuta).

Pea-leaf Weevil Sitona lineatus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

Limonius poneli, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

Bugs included 2 Stenodema laevigata and a new species for me, Scolopostethus affinis.

Stenodema laevigata, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

Scolopostethus affinis, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

My first positively-identified Stenocranus minutus were among the hoppers.

Stenocranus minutus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

Another new species for me was Euscelis incisus.

Euscelis incisus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

I'm not 100% certain about this one - I suspect it's a nymph of Javesella dubia - please let me know if you can confirm (or otherwise).

possible Javesella dubia?, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

Despite being in posession of the lovely new book on spiders I had been unable to put a name to this one, and wasn't even be sure of what family it belonged to.  Keith Kerr and Richard Wilson kindly confirmed that it's in the Lyniphiidae family and Richard suggested a couple of possible genera.  Keith gave me some more pointers which with the help of a close-up view of its palp lead me to conclude that it was Bathyphantes nigrinus.

Bathyphantes nigrinus (male), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th April

The flora didn't present many surprises but of 3 species of fern growing on the chapel ruins this Maidenhair Spleenwort was technically a lifer.  I'm sure I've seen it before (probably including here) but have never looked it up and identified it before.

Maidenhair Spleenwort, North Elmham Chapel, 20th April

No moths and not many butterflies, but a productive start to surveying this site.