Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Noctuids (Noctuidae) part 6: Dusky Brocade to Common Rustics

NOCTUIDS (NOCTUIDAE) (continued)


Dusky Brocade Apamea remissa - Singles caught in the garden on 20th and 26th June 2020 were my first here since 8 in 2015-16.  Elsewhere 5 caught over 4 nights at our accommodation at Carsaig on Mull between 9th and 13th June 2019.

Dusky Brocades, Carsaig (Mull), 9th June 2019

Dusky Brocade, Carsaig (Mull), 13th June 2019

Dusky Brocade, North Elmham, 20th June 2020

Dusky Brocade, North Elmham, 26th June 2020

Clouded Brindle Apamea apomidion - One in the garden on 26th June 2020, my third here following individuals in 2016 and 2017.  Elsewhere one at Weybourne on 5th July 2019.

Clouded Brindle, Weybourne, 5th July 2019

Clouded Brindle, North Elmham, 26th June 2020

Clouded-bordered Brindle Apamea crenata - 2 in the garden, on 31st May and 5th June 2019.  None in 2020.  This species fluctuates quite a bit here - I had 12 in 2017 but none in 2018.  Elsewhere a total of 6 on Mull in June 2019.

Clouded-bordered Brindle, North Elmham, 31st May 2019

Clouded-bordered Brindle, Carsaig (Mull), 9th June 2019

Clouded-bordered Brindle, Carsaig (Mull), 13th June 2019

Large Nutmeg Apamea anceps - One in the garden on 21st May 2020.  I've only recorded this species at home 3 times before, in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

Large Nutmeg, North Elmham, 21st May 2020

Rustic Shoulder-knot Apamea sordens - 5 caught in the garden between 14th and 30th May 2019 and 10 between 22nd May and 12th June 2020.  8-9 is the average annual total here.  Elsewhere one at the meadows in May 2019.

Rustic Shoulder-knot (with Setaceous Hebrew Character), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

Small Clouded Brindle Apamea unanimis - Singles caught in the garden on 31st May and 25th June 2019 and 3 between 28th June and 8th July 2020.  I've only caught this species at home in one previous year, but that year (2017) I caught 6.  Also one at the meadows.

Small Clouded Brindle, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 31st May 2019

Small Clouded Brindle, North Elmham, 31st May 2019

Small Clouded Brindle, North Elmham, 25th June 2019

Small Clouded Brindle, North Elmham, 28th June 2020

Slender Brindle Apamea unanimis - 3 singles trapped in the garden between 17th and 27th July 2019 and one on 8th July 2020.  Around 4-5 a year is average.  Elsewhere one at Bintree Wood.

Slender Brindle, North Elmham, 8th July 2020

Dark Arches Apamea monoglypha - At least 121 caught in the garden between 3rd June and 8th August 2019 (not counted on 4 dates) and 109 between 12th June and 30th August 2020.  These were just a little below average for here.  Elsewhere one next door, 25 at the meadows (including my earliest ever on 31st May 2019), one at Bintree Wood, 4 at Hellesdon, one at Brancaster and 12 at Weybourne.

Dark Arches, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 30th June 2019

Dark Arches, North Elmham, 1st July 2019

Dark Arches, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 18th June 2020

Light Arches Apamea lithoxylaea - 3 in the garden between 27th June and 9th July 2019 and one on 4th July 2020.  I'd never had less than 3 in a year before.  Elsewhere recorded at the meadows on 23rd and 30th June 2019.

Light Arches, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 23rd June 2019

Light Arches, North Elmham, 4th July 2020

Reddish Light Arches Apamea sublustris - None.  In Norfolk this species is pretty much restricted to the Brecks but there are a scattering of records elsewhere so it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that I might get a local one.


Double Lobed Lateroligia ophiogramma - 6 caught in my garden between 17th and 31st July 2019, my best year ever.  I'd not had more than 3 in a year here before and there were none in 2015.  2020 was more typical with singles on 24th June and 8th July.  Elsewhere singles at the meadows on 2 dates, 3 together at Hellesdon (my first threesome anywhere) and 2 at Weybourne on 5th July, all in 2019.

Double Lobed, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th July 2019

Double Lobed, North Elmham, 8th July 2020

Common Rustic Mesapamea secalis - Totals of 33 confirmed from my garden between 6th and 29th July 2019 and 63 between 17th June and 14th August 2020.  I'd averaged 70 a year over the previous 4 years but in previous years I'd gen detted nearly all of the Common Rustic aggs. whereas in 2019 I was a bit more selective.  Even so, the total number of Common Rustic aggs. in 2019 was my lowest ever so it does seem that it was a poor year for this species.  Elsewhere just one confirmed from the meadows.

 male Common Rustic, North Elmham, 13th July 2019

male Common Rustic, North Elmham, 14th July 2019

male Common Rustic, North Elmham, 16th July 2019

male Common Rustic, North Elmham, 17th July 2019

male Common Rustic, North Elmham, 18th July 2019

male Common Rustics, North Elmham, 20th July 2019

male Common Rustic, North Elmham, 21st July 2019

male Common Rustic, North Elmham, 23rd July 2019

male Common Rustic, North Elmham, 29th July 2019

male Common Rustic, North Elmham, 13th July 2020

male Common Rustic, North Elmham, 14th July 2020

female Common Rustic, North Elmham, 2nd August 2020

female Common Rustic, North Elmham, 7th August 2020

Lesser Common Rustic Mesapamea didyma - Only 4 confirmed from my garden in 2019, between 7th and 26th July.  In previous years I'd averaged over 20 a year but as more were left undetermined this year I can't be sure it was a bad year (but I think it was).  A bit better in 2020 with 12 between 6th July and 22nd August.  None elsewhere.

female Lesser Common Rustic, North Elmham, 7th July 2019

male Lesser Common Rustics, North Elmham, 23rd July 2019

male Lesser Common Rustic, North Elmham, 26th July 2019

male Lesser Common Rustic, North Elmham, 17th July 2020

female Lesser Common Rustic, North Elmham, 4th August 2020

male Lesser Common Rustic, North Elmham, 7th August 2020

Common Rustic agg. Mesapamea secalis agg. - Undetermined examples recorded in the garden on 12 dates in 2019 with at least 17 individuals (but possibly a few more as not counted on 5 dates).  Also recorded on 3 nights next door, 2 at the meadow, about 10 at Hellesdon and 2 at Weybourne.   Only one undetermined in 2020, at home.


Next page: more Noctuidae

Another Wood Carpet

After a couple of poor nights it was back to form on 11th June with the following new moths for the year (for the garden): Light Grey Tortrix Cnephasia incertana, Small Grey Eudonia mercurella, False Cacao Moth Ephestia woodiella, Ghost Moth, Dwarf Cream Wave, Riband Wave, Heart and Club, Large Nutmeg (not annual here) and Small Fan-foot.

Ghost Moth, North Elmham, 11th June

Heart and Club, North Elmham, 11th June

Large Nutmeg, North Elmham, 11th June

Small Fan-foot, North Elmham, 11th June

In addition to these was a new moth for the garden, or at least one that I have not put down before (and some might argue should still not put down).  I've been a but dubious of claims of Wood Carpet and have probably thrown away "Common Carpets" that were a bit bigger than normal with clearer white bands in the wings before.  But buoyed by the really obvious one at Derby Fen I couldn't help wondering about another such individual trapped at home two nights later.  It wasn't nearly such an obvious candidate as the Derby Fen example as it had a weak grey line through the white band, more-or-less throughout its length, and the band itself wasn't as completely pure white, but it was big and it looked better in life than it does in the photos!  Now if it is the case that these cannot be done on genitalia then it probably isn't wise to claim such a non 'classic' individual as Wood Carpet, and I have heard it said that this is the case - there is no difference in genitalia.  It certainly is, as far as I can tell, impossible to separate these two on male genitalia, but the images of female genitalia on the Dissection Group website show very obviously different female genitalia for Common Carpet and Wood Carpet, as well as a comparison plate, the inclusion of which implies that this is a real difference rather than just variation between individuals.  Well, my moth was a female, and her genitalia were exactly like the image in the Dissection Group for Wood Carpet.  So on that basis, for the time being at least, I'm calling it a Wood Carpet, but I should point out that at least one expert considers that these are not separable and may not even be valid species.

 

apparent Wood Carpet (female), North Elmham, 11th June

Other species were Hedge Case-bearer Coleophora striatipennella, 5 Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella, 3 Brown House Moths Hofmannophila pseudospretella, 2 Light Brown Apple-moths Epiphyas postvittana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 14 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Plum Tortrix Hedya pruniana, Yellow-faced Bell Notocelia cynosbatella, 3 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 4 Hook-streak Grass-veneers Crambus lathoniellus, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 3 Narrow-winged Greys Eudonia angustea, 2 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Elder Pearl Anania coronata, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, 2 Blood-veins, 4 Treble Brown Spots, Flame Carpet, Red Twin-spot Carpet, 4 Silver-ground Carpets, 2 Common Marbled Carpets, 3 Green Carpets, Sandy Carpet, Foxglove Pug, Mottled Pug, Freyer's Pug, Common Pug, 2 Grey Pugs, Clouded Border, Brown Silver-line, 2 Peppered Moths, Privet Hawk-moth, 2 Coxcomb Prominents, Marbled Brown, Buff-tip, 10 Orange Footmen, Common Footman, White Ermine, 8 Buff Ermines, 4 Cinnabars, 4 Heart and Darts, Ingrailed Clay, Bright-line Brown-eye, 3 Common Wainscots, 6 Brown Rustics, Small Angle Shades, 2 Marbled Minors, Middle-barred Minor, Treble Lines, Burnished Brass, 15 Straw Dots and Snout.

Foxglove Pug, North Elmham, 11th June

There were two mayflies in the trap, one of which was a Baetis sp., possibly a Large Dark Olive Baetis rhodani.  It's size may have helped resolve this one but unforunately I didn't get to measure it before it dried out and shrunk.  The other was one of the Anglers' Curse species and if I identified it correctly (some of the features are pretty subtle) it was a new one for me, Caenis luctuosa.

possible Large Dark Olive Baetis rhodani, North Elmham, 11th June

Caenis luctuosa, North Elmham, 11th June

Caddisflies consisted of Hydropsyche pellucidula, Phryganea grandis and Limnephilus flavicornis, the grandis being new for the year.  There was also the mirid bug Psallus perrisi.

Phryganea grandis, North Elmham, 11th June

 
The following night was atrocious again with just 19 species: Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella, Hook-streak Grass-veneer Crambus lathoniellus, Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, Silver-ground Carpet, Buff-tip, White Ermine, 8 Buff Ermines, 2 Heart and Darts, Flame, 2 Flame Shoulders, 2 Ingrailed Clays, Common Wainscot, 4 Brown Rustics, Dark Arches (new for the year), 2 Treble Lines, 3 Mottled Rustics, Straw Dot and 2 Snouts.

A nice day on 13th June meant several new insects at the meadows.  My first Ringlet and Meadow Browns of the year as well as Common Blue and Painted Lady.

Ringlet, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

Meadow Brown, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

Common Blue, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

A Four-spotted Chaser in one of the meadows was the first one I've seen here.

Four-spotted Chaser, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

The green lacewing Chrysopa perla is one I don't get at home very often - apparently they don't favour gardens.

Chrysopa perla, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

An unremarkable selection of moths consisted of Common Marble Celypha lacunana, Silver-ground Carpet, Common Carpet, Yellow Shell, Cinnabar and Silver Y.  Garden Chafer and Swollen-thighed Beetle represented the beetles and the hoverfly Melangyna umbellatarum was a new species for me.

Melangyna umbellatarum, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

 I think this leafmine on Creeping Buttercup belongs to the fly Phytomyza ranunculivora.

mine of Phytomyza ranunculivora, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

Another species I hadn't identified before was this striking digger wasp, Ectemnius cephalotes.

Ectemnius cephalotes, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

There were some nice wildflowers on show too, like these Common Spotted Orchids and Herb Bennet.

Common Spotted Orchids, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

Herb Bennet, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

It looks like this Grass Vetchling is relatively unusual, and is certainly easily overlooked.

Grass Vetchling, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June

This Maidenhair Spleenwort is an attractive plant growing profusely on the chapel ruins.

Maidenhair Spleenwort, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th June