Cornwall part 2 - other insects at Tresidder

I've just posted a separate page about the moths I caught while staying at Tresidder last autumn between 1st and 6th October.  Here's a post about the other insects I found there.

There were a few caddisflies, the best of which was Hydropsyche instabilis on 4th, a species I've only seen once before.  The other caddis were Limnephilus auricula (41 over the first 4 nights, max 23 on 2nd), Limnephilus lunatus (10 over the first 4 nights, max 5 on 2nd), Limnephilus sparsus (4 on 3 of the first 4 nights), Limnephilus vittatus (singles on each of the first 3 nights) and Halesus raidatus (4 on 3rd followed by up to 4 on each of the final 3 nights).

Hydropsyche instabilis, Tresidder, 4th October

Halesus radiatus, Tresidder, 3rd October

The only true bug to appear in the moth trap was this Pantilus tunicatus on 4th.

Pantilus tunicatus, Tresidder, 4th October

The best leafhopper I caught was a Ribautiana tenerrima (on 4th), a new species for me.

Ribautiana tenerrima, Tresidder, 4th October

Other leafhoppers were Empoasca vitis (1 on 3rd), Empoasca decipiens (2 on 4th), Fagocyba cruenta (different single males on 2nd and 4th) and Edwardsiana rosae (different single males on 2nd, 3rd and 4th; also a female Edwardsiana sp. on 3rd).

This striking barkfly (or booklouse) turned out to be Atlantopsocus adustus, a lifer for me.

Atlantopsocus adustus, Tresidder, 4th October

The only beetle I identified while I was in Cornwall was this one, a new species for me, Chrysolina banksii.

Chrysolina banksii, Tresidder, 4th October

This bee turned out to be a Common Furrow Bee Lasioglossum calceatum, a species I'd not identified before.

Common Furrow Bee, Tresidder, 3rd October

This Wall Brown butterfly was roosting in the garden near the trap on 2nd.

Wall Brown, Tresidder, 2nd October

There was a lot of grasshopper chirping going on in the garden but they always fell silent when I started pointing a torch in their direction so it was very hard to find them, and the sound didn't seem to quite match the sounds on the iRecord Grasshoppers app.  Eventually I identified them as Meadow Grasshoppers, but I also found a single Field Grasshopper.

Meadow Grasshopper, Tresidder, 4th October

Field Grasshopper, Tresidder, 4th October

While trying to catch the grasshoppers I swept a couple of bugs, Stenodema laevigata and my first ever Ant Damsel Bug Himacerus mirmicoides, both on 2nd. Also 2 Common Shiny Woodlice on 2nd.

Stenodema laevigata, Tresidder, 2nd October

Ant Damsel Bug Himacerus mirmicoides, Tresidder, 2nd October

Well that's just what I found at the place we were staying.  There were a few things to note from elsewhere too, though mainly my focus was on birds for the rest of the trip.

On 3rd October we walked down the Penberth Valley from our cottage and along the cliffs to Porthgwarra.  Here there were lots of Ivy Bees, a new species for me although it has now colonised Norfolk.  Butterflies at Porthgwarra included 2 Red Admirals, Speckled Wood and Wall Brown, and there were also 5 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana and a Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla.

Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, Rosketal, Porthgwarra, 3rd October

This thick caterpillar was on those huge-leaved plants (Gunnera I think?).  I can't figure out what species it is - let me know if you can please!

unidentified caterpillar, Rosketal, Porthgwarra, 3rd October

As we walked back across the fields at Polgigga I found another caterpillar I can't identify.  This was on the crop growing in the field - Oil Seed Rape or something similar.

unidentified caterpillar, Polgigga, 3rd October

I think I can identify two caterpillars I found on the moor at Porthgwarra the next morning - Fox Moths.

Fox Moth caterpillar, Porthgwarra Moor, 4th October

I also found a couple of Ivy Bees at Tresidder that day too.

Next day at Porthgwarra I found a few butterflies: Small Copper, 5 Red Admirals and 2 Speckled Woods.  There were also a few moths including a Grey Pine Carpet and 5 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana.  I spent some time looking for migrant birds at Trevean Pool and didn't find any, but I did find 3 migrant moths on the adjacent bit of moor: Diamond-back Plutella xylostella, Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella and Silver Y.

Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella, Trevean Pool/Porthgwarra Moor, 5th October

The only other migrant I found there was a Migrant Hawker.  Also Common Darter.

Migrant Hawker, Trevean Pool, 5th October

I have seen mayflies doing what I took to be a display flight where they fly up and down in the air like a yo-yo, and imagined they would be males displaying.  But I saw a mayfly doing this at Kenidjack and caught it in order to identify it.  It turned out to be a female ready to lay eggs, a Blue-winged Olive Serratella ignita.

Blue-winged Olive Serratella ignita, Kenidjack Valley, 5th October

I didn't have much else to add after this, except for a few butterflies at Porthgwarra on the final morning (7th): Small Copper, 4 Red Admirals and Wall Brown.

Leopard Moth and Red-tipped Clearwing

New for the year on 4th July were Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella, Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis heparana and Leopard Moth.

Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella, North Elmham, 4th July

Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis heparana, North Elmham, 4th July

Leopard Moth, North Elmham, 4th July

The other moths were 2 Brown House Moths Hofmannophila pseudospretella, Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana, 2 Privet Tortrixes Clepsis consimilana, Light Brown Apple-moth Epiphyas postvittana, Large Ivy Tortrix Lozotaenia forsterana, 2 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 3 Marbled Orchard Tortrixes Hedya nubiferana, 2 Triangle-marked Rollers Ancylis achatana, 3 Hoary Bells Eucosma cana, 3 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 3 Inlaid Grass-veneers Crambus pascuella, Straw Grass-veneer Agriphila straminella, Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis, 3 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Elder Pearl Anania coronata, Mother of Pearl Pleuroptya ruralis, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, White Plume Pterophorus pentadactyla, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, Drinker, Small Fan-footed Wave, 7 Single-dotted Waves, 5 Riband Waves, Barred Straw, 3 Clouded Borders, 2 Willow Beauties, Engrailed, 2 Elephant Hawk-moths, Coxcomb Prominent, Dingy Footman, 33 Common Footmen, 11 Buff Ermines, Double Square-spot, Clay, 3 Smoky Wainscots, Dark Arches, 3 Common Rustics, 13 Uncertains, 5 Rustics, Mottled Rustic, 2 Burnished Brasses, Straw Dot and Fan-foot.

A whirligig beetle proved to be a Common Whirligig Gyrinus substriatus, the first time I have identified any of this family to species level.  There was also another Lagria hirta.

Common Whirligig Gyrinus substriatus, North Elmham, 4th July

Other things included the brown lacewings Hemerobius humulinus, the caddisflies Hydropsyche siltalai and Limnephilus marmoratus, a Common Toad and new for the garden, the common centipede Lithobius forficatus.

Common Lithobius Lithobius forficatus, North Elmham, 4th July

I left the pheromone lure for Red-tipped Clearwing out in the garden and attracted one Red-tipped Clearwing, my first of the year.

Red-tipped Clearwing, North Elmham, 4th July - with a close-up showing the vivid orange palps

A morning visit to the Cathedral Meadows was productive, being one of the better days for butterflies including 3 Large Whites, 13 Green-veined Whites, 35 Meadow Browns, 120 Ringlets, 5 Gatekeepers (the only date I saw multiple Gatekeepers this year), Essex Skipper and 20 Small Skippers.  Moths consisted of Diamond-back Plutella xylostella, 3 Straw Grass-veneers Agriphila straminella and 6 Cinnabar caterpillars.

Essex Skipper, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

I retained this Field Grasshopper in order to confirm its identification, not realising that it wasn't fully adult - when I looked at it later in the week it had moulted.

Field Grasshopper, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

the same Field Grasshopper and its former skin on 9th July

Dragonflies included Banded Demoiselle and 2 Ruddy Darters.

Banded Demoiselle, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Ruddy Darter, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

There were lots of Common Red Soldier Beetles Rhagonycha fulva again (at least the two I checked were this species and the others looked the same), as well as 7-spot Ladybirds and Swollen-thighed Beetles.

A Yellow-legged Mining Bee Andrena flavipes was a new one for me; other hymenoptera included German Wasp, 10 Red-tailed Bumblebees and Common Carder Bee.  Hoverflies included probable Sphaerophoria taeniata, Cheilosia illustrata and Volucella pellucens.

Yellow-legged Mining Bee Andrena flavipes, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

I think this leafmine on a Sow-thistle belongs to the fly Liriomyza sonchi.

leafmine of Liriomyza sonchi on Sow-thistle sp., North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

I returned to the meadows that night for some moth-trapping.  This proved successful and I caught 104 species before heading home.  Although there was nothing enormously exciting among them there were plenty of good moths like Sorrel Bent-wing Opostega salaciella, Ash-bud Moth Prays fraxinella, Chamomile Conch Cochylidia implicitana, Buff-tipped Marble Hedya ochroleucana, 2 White-foot Bells Epiblema foenella, Large Grey Scoparia subfusca, Peach Blossom, Buff Arches and Dotted Fan-foot.

Ash-bud Moth Prays fraxinella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Buff-tipped Marble Hedya ochroleucana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Large Grey Scoparia subfusca, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Buff Arches, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Dotted Fan-foot, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

In theory you can't separate Orchard, Apple and Spindle Ermines from one another but I'm not sure either Apple or Spindle can ever get as grey as some Orchard Ermines, in which case this one was surely an Orchard Ermine Yponomeuta padella.

probable Orchard Ermine Yponomeuta padella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

The others were Bird’s-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, 2 Bird-cherry Ermines Yponomeuta evonymella, 2 Hawthorn Ermines Paraswammerdamia nebulella, Diamond-back Plutella xylostella, 2 Common Oak Case-bearers Coleophora lutipennella, 2 Tipped Oak Case-bearers Coleophora flavipennella, 8 Golden-brown Tubics Crassa unitella, Dark Neb Bryotropha affinis, Common Yellow Conch Agapeta hamana, 3 Knapweed Conches Agapeta zoegana, Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana, Variegated Golden Tortrix Archips xylosteana, Timothy Tortrix Aphelia paleana, 2 Privet Tortrixes Clepsis consimilana, Brown-barred Tortrix Epagoge grotiana, Grey Tortrix Cnephasia stephensiana, 3 Flax Tortrixes Cnephasia asseclana, Dover Shade Cnephasia genitalana, 4 Yellow Oak Buttons Aleimma loeflingiana, 2 Green Oak Tortrixes Tortrix viridana, 2 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 3 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Plum Tortrix Hedya pruniana, 2 Marbled Orchard Tortrixes Hedya nubiferana, 2 Common Cloaked Shoots Gypsonoma dealbana, 2 Bramble Shoots Notocelia uddmanniana, 2 Hoary Bells Eucosma cana, Bud Moth Spilonota ocellana, Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana, 10 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Inlaid Grass-veneer Crambus pascuella, 3 Satin Grass-veneers Crambus perlella, Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis, Beautiful China-mark Nymphula nitidulata, Lesser Pearl Sitochroa verticalis, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, 2 Elder Pearls Anania coronata, 5 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, Double-striped Tabby Hypsopygia glaucinalis, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, 5 Dotted Oak Knot-horns Phycita roborella, White Plume Pterophorus pentadactyla, 3 Small Fan-footed Waves, 4 Riband Waves, Common Carpet, Barred Yellow, Small Rivulet, Bordered Pug, Small Yellow Wave, Clouded Border, 2 Brimstone Moths, 3 Swallow-tailed Moths, 2 Peppered Moths, Willow Beauty, Mottled Beauty, Engrailed, 2 Clouded Silvers, Poplar Hawk-moth, 4 Elephant Hawk-moths, Iron Prominent, 2 Coxcomb Prominents, Yellow-tail, Round-winged Muslin, Rosy Footman, Dingy Footman, 10 Common Footmen, Buff Ermine, Ruby Tiger, Short-cloaked Moth, Heart and Dart, Flame, Flame Shoulder, Setaceous Hebrew Character, 4 Double Square-spots, Dot Moth, Clay, 2 Smoky Wainscots, Common Wainscot, Poplar Grey, Knot Grass, Dun-bar, Dark Arches, Marbled Minor, Tawny Marbled Minor, Dusky Sallow, Uncertain, Rustic, Mottled Rustic, Burnished Brass, Spectacle, Beautiful Hook-tip, Straw Dot, 2 Snouts and Fan-foot.

Timothy Tortrix Aphelia paleana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Dotted Oak Knot-horn Phycita roborella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

White Plume Pterophorus pentadactylus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Brimstone Moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Swallow-tailed Moth, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Coxcomb Prominent, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Rosy Footman, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th July

Other insects included Common Earwig, the caddisflies Goera pilosa and Limnephilus rhombicus and the beetle Lagria hirta.