Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Tortrix Moths (Tortricidae) (Part 10: Bells II and Shoots (Eucosma to Epiblema))

TORTRIX MOTHS (TORTRICIDAE) (continued)


Two-coloured Bell Eucosma obumbratana - Totals of 8 in the garden between 12th July and 3rd August 2019 and 7 between 12th July and 2nd August 2020 - slightly above-average showings.  Also at the meadows on 7th July 2019 (2) and 18th July 2020.

Two-coloured Bell Eucosma obumbratana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th July 2019

Two-coloured Bell Eucosma obumbratana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 30th July 2020

Hoary Bell Eucosma cana - Totals of 50 in the garden between 23rd June and 28th July 2019 and 25 between 17th June and 9th August 2020.  The latter total was fairly typical but although the former was good it was less than half the 102 I recorded here in 2018.  Also 5 at the meadows and 2 at Bintree Wood.  Although some examples of this species are quite distinctive I find that others are very close to the hohenwartiana complex and I usually end up dissecting a few to confirm.  When I do it's not uncommon that they don't turn out to be the species I was expecting them to be.

Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, North Elmham, 16th July 2019

female Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, North Elmham, 22nd July 2019

Bright Bell Eucosma hohenwartiana - A total of 9 in the garden between 10th and 25th July 2019.  Although I'd had much smaller numbers previously I had 19 here in 2018.  2020 was back to normal with singles on 9th and 24th July.  Many of these have been gen detted for confirmation however it should be noted that males cannot be determined from the two rarer species fulvana (never recorded locally but now known to occur in the Brecks) and parvulana (which I have now recorded here - see below) - I have included male hohenwartiana aggs. in the above totals.  Also one next door on 7th August 2019. 

male Bright Bells Eucosma hohenwartiana agg., North Elmham, 10th July 2019

female Bright Bell Eucosma hohenwartiana, North Elmham, 22nd July 2019

female Bright Bell Eucosma hohenwartiana, North Elmham, 25th July 2019

male Bright Bell Eucosma hohenwartiana agg., North Elmham, 9th July 2020

male Bright Bell Eucosma hohenwartiana agg., North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd August 2020

Saw-wort Bell Eucosma parvulana - Among the hohenwartiana I had caught in 2018 there was one female that seemed to be intermediate between hohenwartiana and parvulana in what is perhaps the most obvious genitalic character that separates the two species.  Given the extreme unlikelihood of parvulana turning up here (it feeds on Saw-wort which, according to A Flora of Norfolk does not grow in Norfolk except at one or two sites along the Suffolk border) I put that down as evidence that this feature is more variable in hohenwartiana than the references suggest.  Then I caught another individual on which this character seemed to point even more strongly to parvulana, but bearing in mind my earlier conclusions and being unable to make out any of the other supporting features pointing to parvulana, I put this one down as hohenwartiana too.  Then on 22nd July 2019 I caught an individual that I fully expected to be hohenwartiana, but in this case the genitalia clearly pointed to parvulana.  Not only was the same feature pretty clear-cut but the supporting features were also there.  I checked with others and they agreed it was indeed Norfolk's first Eucosma parvulana!  Well, it didn't stand as the first for long because it turned out Keith Kerr had caught one a few days earlier, so it turned out to be the second record, though the jury is still out as to whether either of 2018's might have been too...  If so then that would suggest there is a breeding population nearby, which begs the question, what are they feeding on?  Is Saw-wort grown as a garden plant, or does it actually feed on something else?  It will be interesting to see if more of these crop up in future years. 

One caveat here... after enquiring locally about the 2018 specimens I've sent full details of 5 individuals that show one or more characters suggesting parvulana (including Keith's and my accepted records of parvulana and 3 much less convincing ones with mixed characters) to the authors of the paper which clarified the status and identification of parvulana (and fulvana) as distinct from hohenwartiana.  It remains to be seen what they make of the identifications.

female Saw-wort Bell Eucosma parvulana, North Elmham, 22nd July 2019 - showing the genitalia below

Marbled Bell Eucosma campoliliana - None.  I had singles of this attractive species here in 2016 and 2017 but not since.


Saltmarsh Bell Eucosma tripoliana - None.  This saltmarsh species occasionally wanders inland and I had 2 together in Bawdeswell in 2013, one here in 2016 and another 2 together here in 2018.


Mugwort Bell Eucosma metzneriana - None.  This recent colonist is now turning up in numbers in the Brecks.  It's not yet been found round here but I suspect it's only a matter of time.


Pale Lettuce Bell Eucosma conterminana - None.  I've never seen this species but it's widespread in Norfolk with mostly recent records, and has been recorded only just down the road from here.


Brindled Shoot Gypsonoma minutana - None.  One in my garden in 2016 is the only one I've seen so far.


Common Cloaked Shoot Gypsonoma dealbana - At least 11 at home between 27th June and 30th July 2019 (not counted every night) and 10 between 12th June and 30th July 2020.  Just about my lowest annual totals here.  Elsewhere at Weybourne in 2019 and the meadows and Bintree Wood in 2020.

Common Cloaked Shoot Gypsonoma dealbana, North Elmham, 30th July 2019

Common Cloaked Shoot Gypsonoma dealbana, North Elmham, 12th June 2020

Common Cloaked Shoot Gypsonoma dealbana, North Elmham, 26th June 2020

Poplar Shoot Gypsonoma oppressana - None.  Given how widespread records are I would imagine I must be in with a chance of finding my first example of this species locally.  I don't 'count' moths I don't catch myself but I was given this one to identify by Geoff Turner after he caught it at Weybourne in 2019.

Poplar Shoot Gypsonoma oppressana, Weybourne, caught by Geoff Turner between 30th June and 4th July 2019

White-cloaked Shoot Gypsonoma sociana - None.  I have not yet recorded this species locally, though I do sometimes get Gypsonoma dealbana with white frons, supposedly the main distinguishing feature of sociana.  I can't help wondering if a lot of records of sociana are in fact dealbana given the over-emphasis of this unreliable feature in the literature and some websites, although it does seem that I live in a sociana 'hole' with the east Norfolk, coastal areas and the Brecks claiming the lion's share of county records.


Colt's-foot Bell Epiblema sticticana - None.  I've had several of these at a site near Bittering but apart from that there aren't any records closer than Ringland.  This species may be easier to find during the day than to light.


Thistle Bell Epiblema scutulana - None.  I've not seen this species in North Elmahm but there is plenty of Spear Thistle growing at the meadows so it wouldn't surprise me if it's there.


Knapweed Bell Epiblema cirsiana - Singles at the meadows on 24th June 2019 and 27th May 2020.  Although this species is described as "rare" I'm not sure that's accurate any more (most Norfolk records are from this decade so it probably was accurate 10 years ago).  There's a lot of Common Knapweed at the meadows so it wasn't a huge surprise to me to find it here.

female Knapweed Bell Epiblema cirsiana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 24th June 2019

male Knapweed Bell Epiblema cirsiana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 27th May 2020

White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella - 3 in the garden between 23rd June and 23rd July 2019 and then an unprecedented 9 here between 20th June and 17th July 2020.  I didn't have this species here at all in 2018 and only 2 in each of the previous 3 years.  Elsewhere 3 at the meadows and one at Weybourne.

White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella, North Elmham, 23rd June 2019

White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 30th June 2019

White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella, North Elmham, 20th June 2020

Ragwort Bell Epiblema costipunctana - None.  I've found this species at a couple of sites in the Bittering area but not had one round here yet.  There's Ragwort growing at the meadows so hopefully I'll find it there in due course.


Next page: more Tortricidae

Purple Hairstreaks

One of the highlights of a productive visit to the Cathedral Meadows on 2nd July was finding at least 30 Purple Hairstreak butterflies.  Judging from various reports on social media it seemed to be a good year for them so I'd been keeping an eye out for them.  After a couple of failed efforts I finally found them where I most expected them, in the oaks running along the  bottom of the meadows alongside the disused railway.  They were keeping high up so my photographic efforts leave something to be desired...

Purple Hairstreaks, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

Other butterflies included over 100 Ringlets and my first Gatekeeper of the year.  The former seem to be having a good year, although I don't have any previous years' data from this site to compare with, but I ended up seeing very few Gatekeepers indeed this year.

Moths included White Oak Midget Phyllonorycter harrisella, 6 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana, Common Yellow Conch Agapeta hamana, Timothy Tortrix Aphelia paleana, 15 Privet Tortrixes Clepsis consimilana, Light Grey Tortrix Cnephasia incertana, 2 Yellow Oak Buttons Aleimma loeflingiana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 4 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Plum Tortrix Hedya pruniana, 5 Common Cloaked Shoots Gypsonoma dealbana, Bud Moth Spilonota ocellana, 5 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Straw Grass-veneer Agriphila straminella, 2 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, 2 Blood-veins, Small Fan-footed Wave and thousands of mines of Horse-Chestnut Leaf-miners Cameraria ohridella.

Yellow Oak Button Aleimma loeflingiana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

Common Cloaked Shoots Gypsonoma dealbana, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July - dark and pale forms

One of at least 3 waxflies was retained for checking and proved to be Conwentzia psociformis,a species I'd only identified once before.

Conwentzia psociformis (male, gen det), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

I only checked 3 of them but if all the soldier beetles were the same species there were at least 40 Rhagonycha fulva.  Other insects included 2 Emperor dragonflies, 8 Meadow Grasshoppers, the mirid bug Stenotus binotatus, a Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius and an Ichneumon wasp that I tried and failed to identify, but a member of the genus Tryphon apparently.

Rhagonycha fulva, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

Stenotus binotatus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

Tryphon sp., North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd July

That night new for the year (for the garden) were Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana, Orange Crest Helcystogramma rufescens, Drinker, July Highflyer and Buff Footman, but better than any of them was another Wood Carpet.

Orange Crest Helcystogramma rufescens, North Elmham, 2nd July

Drinker, North Elmham, 2nd July

Buff Footman, North Elmham, 2nd July

Other moths were Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, Diamond-back Plutella xylostella, Tipped Oak Case-bearer Coleophora flavipennella, Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Burdock Neb Metzneria lappella, Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, Light Brown Apple-moth Epiphyas postvittana, Grey Tortrix Cnephasia stephensiana, 4 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 8 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 5 Triangle-marked Rollers Ancylis achatana, Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, Many-plume Moth Alucita hexadactyla, 9 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Inlaid Grass-veneers Crambus pascuella, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 2 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, 4 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Fenland Pearl Anania perlucidalis, Mother of Pearl Pleuroptya ruralis, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, 3 Buff Arches, 3 Small Emeralds, 4 Small Fan-footed Waves, 2 Dwarf Cream Waves, 8 Single-dotted Waves, 3 Riband Waves, 7 Barred Straws, 2 Sandy Carpets, Grey Pug, V-Pug, 2 Green Pugs, 2 Brimstone Moths, 2 Early Thorns, 2 Willow Beauties, 3 Mottled Beauties, 2 Engraileds, Privet Hawk-moth, Elephant Hawk-moth, Buff-tip, 3 Rosy Footmen, Scarce Footman, 39 Common Footmen, 12 Buff Ermines, 2 Heart and Clubs, 2 Heart and Darts, Large Yellow Underwing, Double Square-spot, 2 Bright-line Brown-eyes, 5 Smoky Wainscots, 2 Common Wainscots, 2 Brown Rustics, Dark Arches, Rufous Minor, Common Rustic (and 1 agg.), 13 Uncertains, Rustic, 5 Mottled Rustics, 3 Beautiful Hook-tips, Straw Dot and Snout.

There was also a Common Earwing and Caddisflies included Medium Sedge Goera pilosa (new for the year) and Limnephilus lunatus.

Next day Scarce Obscure Oegoconia deauratella, Burdock Conch Aethes rubigana and Mere Wainscot were new for the year.

Scarce Obscure Oegoconia deauratella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 3rd July

Burdock Conch Aethes rubigana, North Elmham, 3rd July

Mere Wainscot, North Elmham, 3rd July

Other moths (there were only 33 species, a low number in July) were 2 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 3 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Inlaid Grass-veneers Crambus pascuella, 2 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, 3 Small Fan-footed Waves, Dwarf Cream Wave, 2 Single-dotted Waves, 5 Riband Waves, 3 Barred Straws, Sandy Carpet, Clouded Border, Swallow-tailed Moth, Willow Beauty, Mottled Beauty, Engrailed, Coxcomb Prominent, 24 Common Footmen, 18 Buff Ermines, Cinnabar, 3 Heart and Darts, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Smoky Wainscot, Common Rustic, 14 Uncertains, 3 Mottled Rustics, Burnished Brass and Snout.

A 124 species night

19th July was another good night - the best of the year so far with 432 moths of 124 species.  Probably the best one was one of 5 species of Coleophora: Southern Case-bearer Coleophora badiipennella [ - or so I thought - see the update below].  They're tricky to identify even when looking at the genitalia, especially males.  Pretty sure this was one anyway - had a female last year which was marginally easier, so I know they're in the area.  Only 10 records in Norfolk, though I suspect that has more to do with the diffiiculty in confirming ID than their actual rarity.  I include a pic of the genitalia in case anyone wants to comment on the ID (the inset is the cornuti that came out of the aedeagus)...

[update 22nd September - well, I wasn't comfortable enough with this ID to record it formally without checking so sent the following pics to Jon Clifton and Jim Wheeler.  Jon thought it might be milvipennis but the situation with these two is very difficult not only because they are so alike but because the figures in MOGBI are apparently the wrong way round and consequently a lot of online images of their genitalia may well be misidentified.  Anyway, Jon forwarded them on to Jukka Tabell in Finland who is apparently an expert on these.  The response came back that it is indeed Buff Birch Case-bearer Coleophora milvipennis.  According to the NMS database this birch-feeding species is recorded a bit more frequently than the elm-feeding badiipennella, but from my perspective it's good news as milvipennis is a new species for me.

Buff Birch Case-bearer Coleophora milvipennis (male, gen det confirmed by Jukka Tabell (Finland) via J Clifton), North Elmham, 19th July

New for the garden and only the second time I've seen one anywhere was this Gold Pine Ermel Cedestis gysseleniella.

Gold Pine Ermel Cedestis gysseleniella, North Elmham, 19th July

Others new for the year were Golden Lance-wing Epermenia chaerophyllella, Hedge Case-bearer Coleophora striatipennella, Buff Cosmet Mompha ochraceella, Maple Button Acleris forsskaleana, Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, 2 Small Yellow Waves, 2 Ruby Tigers and one of the best macros of the night, Lunar-spotted Pinion.

Small Yellow Wave, North Elmham, 19th July

Maple Button Acleris forsskaleana, North Elmham, 19th July

Golden Lance-wing Epermenia chaerophyllella, North Elmham, 19th July

Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciella, North Elmham, 19th July

Hedge Case-bearer Coleophora striatipennella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 19th July

Great to see another Scarce Silver-lines and a slightly fresher Blue-bordered Carpet than yesterday's.

Scarce Silver-lines, North Elmham, 19th July

 Blue-bordered Carpet, North Elmham, 19th July

I dissected a Wormwood Pug to check it wasn't Currant as it seemed a bit small.  Currant Pug has very different genitalia and was easily ruled out on dissection, but the genitalia were an exact match for the diagram of Bleached Pug in Riley's Pugs book.  Bleached Pug hasn't occurred in Norfolk but sadly I don't think this was one - it was pretty worn but there were enough scales left to see it was a dark reddish-brown moth, quite unlike Bleached Pug.  Just goes to show that examining the genitalia doesn't always give you the right answers!

 Wormwood Pug (male), North Elmham, 19th July

Riley's Pug book shows Wormwood Pug as having hardly any indent in the top of the abdominal plate, but the majority of examples online show an indent, if not always as deep as on this individual:

 Wormwood Pug (abdominal plate), North Elmham, 19th July

The real difference between Wormwood and Bleached genitalia is supposed to be the form of this cornutus from the aedeagus.  On Wormwood there are supposed to be fewer projections round the outside and front face and long projection on the right hand side.  Bleached, on the other hand, is supposed to show projections round the edge and front just like this.  There may be a small projection on the right hand side - this was hard to see as it's a bit hidden below the folds of the vesica.  But they are evidently a bit variable and given the appearance of the forewings it must be a Wormwood Pug, unfortunately.

Wormwood Pug (cornutus in aedeagus), North Elmham, 19th July

Other macros were Ghost Moth, 2 Chinese Characters, Large Emerald, 2 Common Emeralds, Small Emerald, Small Blood-vein, 3 Lesser Cream Waves, 13 Small Fan-footed Waves, 8 Single-dotted Waves, 12 Riband Waves, Large Twin-spot Carpet, Yellow Shell, Phoenix, July Highflyer, 2 Green Pugs, Clouded Border, 2 Brimstone Moths, 3 Early Thorns, 4 Scalloped Oaks, 4 Swallow-tailed Moths, 2 Willow Beauties, Elephant Hawkmoth, 3 Yellow-tails, 4 Round-winged Muslins, 24 Rosy Footmen, 15 Dingy Footmen, Scarce Footman, Buff Footman, 28 Common Footmen, 3 Buff Ermines, 2 Large Yellow Underwings, 3 Double Square-spots, Bright-line Brown-eye, 2 Brown-line Bright-eyes, 2 Clays, 13 Smoky Wainscots, Marbled Beauty, Dun-bar, 3 Dark Arches, Common Rustic, Lesser Common Rustic (plus 2 Common Rustic aggs.), 21 Uncertains, Rustic, 2 Nut-tree Tussocks, Burnished Brass, 2 Spectacles, Beautiful Hook-tip, 2 Straw Dots, 6 Snouts, 2 Fan-foots and Small Fan-foot.

Other highlights among the micros included Hazel Slender Parornix devoniella, Dull Red Groundling Bryotropha senectella and Lesser Pearl Sitochroa verticalis.

Hazel Slender Parornix devoniella (female, gen det), North Elmham, 19th July

Dull Red Groundling Bryotropha senectella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 19th July

Lesser Pearl Sitochroa verticalis, North Elmham, 19th July

The Robinson's moth trap is round so casts a circular shadow round it, with a ring of light on the ground beyond the shadow.  In a circle round the trap along the inner edge of the light were Water Veneers.  Saw lots there in the evening but most had disappeared by the morning - perhaps burrowed into the grass out of sight rather than gone?  I counted 54 Water Veneers Acentria ephemerella but suspect there were far more in reality.

More than half the moth species were micros, the ones not yet mentioned being 4 Bird-cherry Ermines Yponomeuta evonymella, Little Ermel Swammerdamia pyrella, 12 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, 2 Woundwort Case-bearers Coleophora lineolea, White Sallow Case-bearer Coleophora albidella, 4 Grey Rush Case-bearers Coleophora glaucicolella, 2 Little Dwarfs Elachista canapennella, 2 Golden-brown Tubics Crassa unitella, 2 Long-horned Flat-bodies Carcina quercana, Common Groundling Teleiodes vulgella, Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis, 3 Cinereous Groundlings Bryotropha terrella, Gorse Crest Brachmia blandella, Orange Crest Helcystogramma rufescens, 2 Bulrush Cosmets Limnaecia phragmitella, Hawthorn Cosmet Blastodacna hellerella, 2 Hook-marked Straw Moths Agapeta hamana, Burdock Conch Aethes rubigana, 3 Dark Fruit-tree Tortrixes Pandemis heparana, 4 Large Fruit-tree Tortrixes Archips podana, 5 Privet Tortrixes Clepsis consimilana, Red-barred Tortrix Ditula angustiorana, 2 Yellow-spot Tortrixes Pseudargyrotoza conwagana, 5 Grey Tortrixes Cnephasia stephensiana, 2 Flax Tortrixes Cnephasia asseclana, Light Grey Tortrix Cnephasia incertana, Yellow Oak Button Aleimma loeflingiana, Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana, 3 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 8 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Pine Marble Piniphila bifasciana, 4 Marbled Orchard Tortrixes Hedya nubiferana, 2 Triangle-marked Rollers Ancylis achatana, Holly Tortrix Rhopobota naevana, Common Cloaked Shoot Gypsonoma dealbana, Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana, Wainscot Veneer Chilo phragmitella, 6 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Grass-veneer Crambus pascuella, 2 Pearl Veneers Agriphila straminella, 2 Chequered Grass-veneers Catoptria falsella, Pale Water-veneer Donacaula forficella, 3 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 6 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, 3 Small Greys Eudonia mercurella, Brown China-mark Elophila nymphaeata, Beautiful China-mark Nymphula nitidulata, 3 Chequered Straws Evergestis pallidata, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, 5 Elder Pearls Anania coronata, Fenland Pearl Anania perlucidalis, 2 Dusky Pearls Udea prunalis, 10 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, Grey Knot-horn Acrobasis advenella, Ermine Knot-horn Phycitodes binaevella and 3 White Plumes Pterophorus pentadactyla.

 Common Cloaked Shoot Gypsonoma dealbana, North Elmham, 19th July

Wainscot Veneer Chilo phragmitella, North Elmham, 19th July

Pale Water-veneer Donacaula forficella, North Elmham, 19th July

White Sallow Case-bearer Coleophora albidella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 19th July

Other insects included the Brown Lacewing Hemerobius humulinus.

Hemerobius humulinus, North Elmham, 19th July

Caddisflies included 6 Athripsodes aterrimus, Leptocerus tineiformis and 2 Mystacides longicornis.

The only other insect of note that day was a Small Tortroiseshell that flew in through my study window earlier in the day.