Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Erebids (Erebidae) part 3: Fan-foots, Small Snouts, Beautiful Hook-tip and Red Underwings

EREBIDS (EREBIDAE) (continued)


Dotted Fan-foot Macrochilo cribrumalis - Trapped in the garden on 25th June 2020 and 2nd July, the first I'd caught here since 3 in 2015-16.  Elsewhere one at Bintree Wood on 13th June 2020 and 3 at the meadows on 18th/23rd June 2020.

Dotted Fan-foot, Bintree Wood, 13th June 2020

Dotted Fan-foot, North Elmham, 25th June 2020

Fan-foot Herminia tarsipennalis - A total of 41 here between 24th June and 26th July 2019 was my worst year here but 2020 made it look good by returning just 16 between 19th June and 23rd July.  An average year here is 60.  Elsewhere 2 at the meadows and one at Hellesdon.

Fan-foot, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th July 2019

Small Fan-foot Herminia grisealis - I'd caught 54 here in my first 4 years 2015-18 with annual totals ranging from 8 to 24, so it was a bit of a shocker to have a completely blank year in 2019 followed by just a single one (on 26th June) in 2020.


Pinion-streaked Snout Schrankia costaestrigalis - Singles trapped here on 4 nights between 30th August and 24th September 2019 and on 20th August 2020.  I've had 3-6 here in each of the last 4 years but had a blank year in 2015.  Elsewhere one at Row Heath (West Runton) on 31st August 2019 and 4 in Cornwall on 6th/7th October 2020.


Blackneck Lygephila pastinum - None.  I was due a blank year or two after catching one, but only ever one, in each year between 2015 and 2018.


Waved Black Parascotia fuliginaria - None.  I've never seen this species and it's never been recorded round here, but it seems to be increasing in south Norfolk so it's perhaps just a matter of time before it turns up round here.  Hope so anyway.


Beautiful Hook-tip Laspeyria flexula - Totals of 17 here between 23rd June and 24th July 2019 followed by 3 autumn records between 9th and 25th September, then 22 between 12th June and 30th July 2020.  Although the 3 in September 2019 represented my best ever autumn showing the overall totals of 20 and 22 were my worst in the 6 years I've been here - I had been averaging 50 a year.  Elsewhere 6 at the meadows, one at Bintree Wood and 2 at Weybourne.

Beautiful Hook-tip, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 30th June 2019

Beautiful Hook-tip, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 23rd June 2020

Beautiful Marbled Eublemma purpurina - None.  I've never seen this species and until very recently it didn't seem particularly likely that I would see one in Norfolk.  After the first in Norfolk in 2016 there were 5 in 2018, 5 in 2019 and then 30 in 2020.  Given the spread of records and some repeated records of fresh individuals at inland locations it is impossible to conclude that these are all migrants - the species is clearly breeding in the county now.  Currently all the records are north or east of a line curving round from Dersingham across to Stibbard and down to Tasburgh.  I'm only just on the wrong side of that line so if things carry on going the way they've started then it won't be long before I catch one too.  Bring it on!!!


Clifden Nonpareil Catocala fraxini - None.  I've never seen one but rather like the previous species it's only the last couple of years that it has felt like I have anything more than an outside chance of finding one.  Compared to the last species there were a few more old historic records of migrants but the very recent colonisation follows a pattern that's uncannily similar except that there are a few records in the south-west quarter of the county too.  I'm very much looking forward to my first...


Red Underwing Catocala nupta - None in 2019 but 4 between 11th and 26th August 2020.  I have only ever caught 3 in my moth trap here, one in 2014 and 2 together in 2016, but in 2020 I started using sugar.

Red underwing, North Elmham, 11th August 2020

Red underwing, North Elmham, 26th August 2020

Dark Crimson Underwing Catocala sponsa - None.  Another former rare migrant that's very recently colonised the county.  Hopefully they will become a permanent fixture here and it won't be long before one finds its way to my sugar mix...


Burnet Companion Euclidia glyphica - None.  In Norfolk this species is largely restrited to the Brecks but there are a few records elsewhere.  As a day-flying species I'm not expecting to catch one in the garden but there is perhaps a small chance of me finding it at the meadows one day.


Mother Shipton Euclidia mi - None.  Another day-flying species that I don't particularly expect to catch at home but unlike the previous species there are a lot of records across Norfolk and away from the Brecks (although the Brecks is its stronghold).  It's not yet been recorded in this 10km square but I've had it this side of Beetley and I imagine it's quite likely to occur even more locally.


Next page: Noctuidae

Spongefly

The highlight from my garden moth trap on 10th June was my first Spongefly, a group of lacewings represented by one species in Norfolk, Sisyra fuscata.  Compared to the brown lacewings (at least the ones I'm familiar with) it was small and dark, but sadly it was on its last legs (although that hadn't been apparent) and died before I managed to get any photos of it.  Not only that but it had covered itself in moth scales left in the pot I used so the photo really is bad!

Sisyra fuscata (dead), North Elmham, 10th June

A number of moths were new for the year: Obscure Groundling Bryotropha similis, Cyclamen Tortrix Clepsis spectrana, Pine Marble Piniphila bifasciana, Marbled Orchard Tortrix Hedya nubiferana, Bramble Shoot Moth Notocelia uddmanniana, 2 Little Grass-veneers Platytes cerussella, Wormwood Pug, Dingy Footman and Fan-foot.

Obscure Groundling Bryotropha similis (male, gen det), North Elmham, 10th June

Cyclamen Tortrix Clepsis spectrana, North Elmham, 10th June

Pine Marble Piniphila bifasciana, North Elmham, 10th June

Bramble Shoot Moth Notocelia uddmanniana, North Elmham, 10th June

Little Grsas-veneer Platytes cerussella, North Elmham, 10th June

Fan-foot, North Elmham, 10th June

Also of note were 2 Hawthorn Bent-wings Bucculatrix bechsteinella - my third and fourth here this year but a species I'd not recorded here at all in previous years.

Hawthorn Bent-wing Bucculatrix bechsteinella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 10th June

Other moths were Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella, 2 Brown House Moths Hofmannophila pseudospretella, Sloe Flat-body Luquetia lobella, Hook-marked Straw Moth Agapeta hamana, Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana, 3 Light Brown Apple Moths Epiphyas postvittana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 5 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 4 Triple-blotched Bells Notocelia trimaculana, 4 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 3 Hook-streaked Grass-Veneers Crambus lathoniellus, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, Ringed China-mark Parapoynx stratiotata, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, 5 Bee Moths Aphomia sociella, Common Swift, Small Dusty Wave, 4 Riband Waves, 2 Silver-ground Carpets, Common Carpet, 2 Common Marbled Carpets, Sandy Carpet, 3 Common Pugs, 2 Green Pugs, Brown Silver-line, Scorched Wing, 2 Brimstone Moths, 3 Willow Beauties, 2 Mottled Beauties, 3 Light Emeralds, Coxcomb Prominent, 2 White Ermines, Buff Ermine, Heart and Club, 2 Heart and Darts, Flame, 4 Ingrailed Clays, Shears, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, Brown Rustic, Small Clouded Brindle, Tawny Marbled Minor (also another Marbled Minor agg. that escaped), 6 Middle-barred Minors, Treble Lines, 3 Mottled Rustics, Marbled White Spot, 3 Burnished Brasses, Spectacle, 20 Straw Dots, 5 Snouts and 4 Small Fan-foots.

Caddisflies were represented by 2 Ecnomus tenellus (new for the year), Goera pilosa and Mystacides longicornis.

Ecnomus tenellus, North Elmham, 10th June

Goera pilosa, North Elmham, 10th June

Birch Shieldbug, Fly Bug Reduvius personatus (sometimes known as Masked Hunter) and 7-spot Ladybird were all apparently new for the year though I've a feeling I've had the ladybird before and forgotten to record it.

Birch Shieldbug, North Elmham, 10th June

Next day I found 2 Case-bearing Clothes Moths Tinea pellionella in the house, a new species for the year here.

Case-bearing Clothes Moth Tinea pellionella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 10th June

Satyr surprise!

The night of Friday 22nd June was the best so far this year with over 300 moths of 92 species.  That's a good total, but not an especially remarkable total, for this time of year.  Several nice ones among them but I had no clue about the best one until over a week later.

I often keep back pugs if I'm not completely sure about their identify, even if I think they're probably Common Pugs.  That was the case with 2 pugs on this occasion, one proving as expected to be Common Pug but the other, a female, having gentitalia that I did not immediately recognise.  I still didn't recognise it after pawing through the diagrams in the Pugs book and resorted to checking each species one by one in the Dissection Group website.  Eventually I found it - it was a Satyr Pug!  This is a scarcely-recorded species and completely new to me, but there is no way I would have reached this conclusion without dissecting it.  I guess that's part of the reason they aren't recorded very often, though fresher examples are a little bit easier.

Satyr Pug (female, gen det), North Elmham, 22nd June

I'm not sure if the number of new moths for the year was testament to how good the night was or, probably more likely, how bad the year had been before, but a phenonemal 22 species were new for the year for the garden despite trapping every night.  Apart from the Satyr Pug, Purple Clay and Cream-bordered Green Pea were probably the best.

Cream-bordered Green Pea, North Elmham, 22nd June

Purple Clay, North Elmham, 22nd June

The others new for the year were Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucicolella, Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis cerasana, 2 Green Oak Tortrixes Tortrix viridana, Grass-veneer Crambus pascuella, Yellow Satin Veneer Crambus perlella, Pale Water-veneer Donacaula forficella, 3 Water Veneers Acentria ephemerella, 2 Meadow Greys Scoparia pyralella, Gold Triangle Hypsopygia costalis, Double-striped Tabby Hypsopygia glaucinalis, White Plume Pterophorus pentadactyla, Ghost Moth, Large Twin-spot Carpet, 2 Green Pugs, Bordered White, Uncertain, Beautiful Hook-tip, 2 Fan-foots and Small Fan-foot.

Ghost Moth, North Elmham, 22nd June

Gold Triangle Hypsopygia costalis, North Elmham, 22nd June

Double-striped Tabby Hypsopygia glaucinalis, North Elmham, 22nd June

Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis cerasana, North Elmham, 22nd June

Green Pug, North Elmham, 22nd June

Bordered White, North Elmham, 22nd June

Large Twin-spot Carpet, North Elmham, 22nd June

Grass-veneer Crambus pascuella, North Elmham, 22nd June

Yellow Satin Veneer Crambus perlella, North Elmham, 22nd June

Pale Water-venner Donacaula forficella, North Elmham, 22nd June

White Plume Pterophorus pentadactyla, North Elmham, 22nd June

Grey Rush Case-bearer Coleophora glaucinalis (male, gen det), North Elmham, 22nd June

Water Venner Accentria ephemerella, North Elmham, 22nd June

Fan-Foot, North Elmham, 22nd June

Uncertain, North Elmham, 22nd June

Meadow Grey Scoparia pyralella, North Elmham, 22nd June

A staggering total of 48 Straw Dots was interesting and the other macros were 2 Blood-veins, 3 Small Dusty Waves, 11 Treble Brown Spots, 9 Riband Waves, 7 Silver-ground Carpets, Garden Carpet, Common Carpet, 2 Yellow Shells, 3 Sandy Carpets, 2 Foxglove Pugs, Mottled Pug, 3 Common Pugs, Clouded Border, 4 Scorched Wings, 3 Brimstone Moths, 2 Peppered Moths, 5 Willow Beauties, 2 Mottled Beauties, 2 Common White Waves, 13 Clouded Silvers, 2 Light Emeralds, Poplar Hawkmoth, 2 Elephant Hawkmoths, Pebble Prominent, Orange Footman, Common Footman, 5 White Ermines, 3 Buff Ermines, 4 Cinnabars, Least Black Arches, 3 Heart and Darts, Flame, Large Yellow Underwing, Ingrailed Clay, Pale-shouldered Brocade, 2 Common Wainscots, 2 Shoulder-striped Wainscots, Poplar Grey, 7 Brown Rustics, 2 Dark Arches, 7 Middle-barred Minors, 4 Treble Lines, 5 Mottled Rustics, 5 Burnished Brasses, Spectacle and 3 Snouts.

Yellow Shell, North Elmham, 22nd June

Pale-shouldered Brocade, North Elmham, 22nd June

Poplar Grey, North Elmham, 22nd June

Mottled Beauty, North Elmham, 22nd June

The remaining micros were 2 Cypress Tip Moths Argyresthia cupressella, 14 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, Small Clover Case-bearer Coleophora alcyonipennella, Common Rush Case-bearer Coleophora alticolella, 5 Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella, 2 Little Dwarfs Elachista canapennella, Brindled Flat-body Agonopterix arenella, Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana, 3 Large Fruit-tree Tortrixes Archips podana, 7 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 3 Plum Tortrixes Hedya pruniana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, 2 Triple-blotched Bells Notocelia trimaculana, 2 Red Piercers Lathronympha strigana, 5 Hook-streaked Grass-Veneers Crambus lathoniellus, 14 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, Marsh Grey Eudonia pallida, Little Grey Eudonia lacustrata, 2 Narrow-winged Greys Eudonia angustea, 4 Ringed China-marks Parapoynx stratiotata, 7 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, 4 False Cacao Moths Ephestia unicolorella and Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla.

Small Clover Case-bearer Coleophora alcyonipennella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 22nd June

False Cacao Moth Ephestia unicolorella, North Elmham, 22nd June

According to the books the rings on the antennae of Coleophora caespititiella fade out before the tip of the antennae.  Well they do normally but there is variatioon - some are ringed to the very tip although not normally as clearly so as on this one:

antenna tip of Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella (female, gen det), North Elmham, 22nd June

One moth was so worn it didn't really show any fieldmarks.  It looked very pale sandy coloured but I wasn't sure if that was at all reflective of how it would have appeared when it had a full quota of scales.  It's square-ended wings and the way it held them made me think it was one of the larger Agonopterix species, so I took it in to find out which one.  It really was on its last legs and by the time I photographed it it didn't seem able to rest properly with its wings down, hence the awkward posture in the photo.  Anyway, the genitalia revealed that it wasn't an Agonopterix species at all, nor anything else in that family.  I tried using the Kleine Vlinders key to find what family it belongs to but that was hard given the sad state it was in.  It keyed out as a Tortrix but several features were hard to judge and I'm not convinced it was a Tortrix.  The Pyralids (which I think includes Crambids in that key) were close, and I think the genitalia are broadly close to a number of the Pyralids, so I suspect that's the family.  But having been through numerous genitalia images of Pyralids and every other family I could possibly conceive it belonging to, I can't find anything that really matches this thing.  No doubt I've overlooked something obvious, but here is the moth, the genitalia and aedeagus in case any reader recognises it... let me know if you do please!

unidentified moth, North Elmham, 22nd June

Mayflies were represented by a Green Drake Ephemera danica, a new species for the garden.  The Leafhopper Oncopsis subangulata was the second I've seen this year.

Oncopsis subangulata, North Elmham, 22nd June

Caddisflies included Polycentropus flavomaculatus, 2 Hydropsyche pellucidula, Limnephilus flavicornis, Limnephilus marmoratus and 2 Mystacides longicornis.  Also what I think must be Athripsodes aterrimus but the genitalia didn't look quite right.

probable Athripsodes aterrimus, North Elmham, 22nd June