Review of 2019 and 2020 - Bugs: Plant bugs - part 6: Phylini I (Asciodema to Oncotylus)

PLANT BUGS (MIRIDAE) (continued)


Tribe PHYLINI


Asciodema obsoleta - Another new bug for me with singles caught in my garden moth trap on 26th June 2019 and on exactly the same date in 2020.  Also swept from Broom at the meadows on 19th July 2019.

Asciodema obsoleta, North Elmham, 26th June 2019

Asciodema obsoleta, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 19th July 2019

Atractotomus parvulus - Singles caught in the garden moth trap on 11th and 12th August 2020.  I'd recorded this species here once before, in 2018.  It's the only member of the genus that I've seen but I don't find the differences particularly obvious so have resorted to gen detting them to make sure (they've all been males).

Atractotomus parvulus, North Elmham, 12th August 2020 - showing its aedeagus in second photo

Compsidolon salicellum - 4 singles trapped in my garden moth trap between 23rd July and 21st August 2019 then singles on 13th and 19th August 2020.

Compsidolon salicellum, North Elmham, 28th July 2019

Compsidolon salicellum, North Elmham, 13th August 2020

Harpocera thoracica - One knocked out of Oak at the meadows on 8th May 2020.  None at home in 2019 or 2020 despite recording it here in 2017 and 2018.

Harpocera thoracica, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 8th May 2020

Macrotylus horvathi - Singles caught in my garden moth trap on 25th July 2019 and 31st July 2020 (following 3 in 2018).

Macrotylus horvathi, North Elmham, 25th July 2019

Macrotylus horvathi, North Elmham, 31st July 2020

Macrotylus paykulli - One swept from Restharrow at Brancaster on 2nd July 2020, the first time I've recorded this species.

Macrotylus paykulli, Brancaster, 2nd July 2020

Macrotylus solitarius - One caught in my garden moth trap on 23rd June 2020 (following 3 in 2017 but none in between).

Macrotylus solitarius, North Elmham, 23rd June 2020 (showing close-up of faded wing membranes to show shape of dark markings)

Megalocoleus molliculus - Just one caught in my garden moth trap in 2019 (on 26th July) and none in 2020 (I'd caught 3 here in 2018).

Megalocoleus molliculus, North Elmham, 26th July 2019

Oncotylus viridiflavus - I caught 12 of these in my garden moth trap over 4 nights between 23rd and 30th July 2019 (max. 5 on 25th).  Also one at Foxley Wood on 17th August.  This was a particularly good showing considering I'd never identified this species before, and as its reasonably distinctive I like to think I would have done had I trapped any over the previous year or two at least.  There were some more in 2020 but only 4 - between 24th and 31st July.

Oncotylus viridiflavus, North Elmham, 23rd July 2019

Oncotylus viridiflavus, North Elmham, 24th July 2020

Oncotylus viridiflavus, North Elmham, 30th July 2020

Next page: more Miridae

hannoverella and dodecella

My first garden Meadow Brown of the year was on 22nd June, along with a Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana.  That night the best moth in the trap was a New Poplar Pigmy Ectoedemia hannoverella - a new species for me (or so I thought - read on for a 2018 edit).  Some seem to frown upon even attempting to identify Stigmella/Ectoedemia species in adulthood (the leafmines are generally much easier) but this one keyed out quite smoothly and the genitalia were spot on.  There aren't any records of adults in Norfolk and compared to other Nepticulidae I've identitfied not all that many records of leafmines either.  Most records are from the Brecks and the Fens with just one record from Dereham being relatively close.  However, it's a recent arrival to the UK and is spreading so I shouldn't be surprised if they're all over the county before long.

New Poplar Pigmy Ectoedemia hannoverella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 22nd June - or not: see below*

* Edit 2018: OK, there's a reason why as I said above some frown upon attempting to identify these in adulthood.  I got a bit suspicious after having two more in 2017 and another in 2018 which seems a lot for a Poplar-feeding species given the distance from here to the nearest Poplars.  Having looked into it a bit more it now seems possible - indeed likely - that they are not hannoverella but Spotted Black Pigmies Ectoedemia subbimaculella.  I cannot rule out hannoverella, nor the Holm-Oak species heringella as both the external appearance and the genitalia are very similar between all 3 species, but as there is an Oak tree close by (subbimaculella feeds on Oak) and no Poplar or Holm-Oak very close I think subbimaculella is most likely.  Not entirely sure why I overlooked this as a possibility - probably because most of the photos online show much better patterned individuals than any of mine.

A Pine Groundling Exoteleia dodecella was new for the house and only the third time I've seen this species.

Pine Groundling Exoteleia dodecella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 22nd June

New Tawny Tubic Batia lunaris, Light Arches and Rufous Minor were new for the year.

New Tawny Tubic Batia lunaris, North Elmham, 22nd June

Light Arches, North Elmham, 22nd June

Rufous Minor (male, gen det), North Elmham, 22nd June

An Eastern Case-bearer Coleophora vestianella was my third this year (second at home) but I'd only ever seen one before.  Other moths recorded were Bordered Carl Coptotriche marginea, Cypress Tip Moth Argyresthia cupressella, Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella, 2 Meadow Case-bearers Coleophora mayrella, Brindled Flat-body Agonopterix arenella, 2 Gorse Crests Brachmia blandella, London Dowd Blastobasis lacticolella, Hawthorn Cosmet Blastodacna hellerella, Hook-marked Straw Moth Agapeta hamana, 4 Large Fruit-tree Tortrixes Archips podana, Large Ivy Tortrix Lozotaenia forsterana, 2 Yellow Oak Buttons Aleimma loeflingiana, 3 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 10 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Pine Marble Piniphila bifasciana, Plum Tortrix Hedya pruniana, Marbled Orchard Tortrix Hedya nubiferana, Triangle-marked Roller Ancylis achatana, Common Cloaked Shoot Gypsonoma dealbana, Bramble Shoot Moth Notocelia uddmanniana, Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, 11 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Hook-streaked Grass-Veneer Crambus lathoniellus, 12 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, Ringed China-mark Parapoynx stratiotata, 4 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, 2 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, Gold Triangle Hypsopygia costalis, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, False Cacao Moth Ephestia unicolorella, Ermine Knot-horn Phycitodes binaevella, 4 White Plumes Pterophorus pentadactyla, 3 Common Emeralds, 2 Small Fan-footed Waves, 2 Dwarf Cream Waves, 3 Single-dotted Waves, 2 Treble Brown Spots, 25 Riband Waves, Silver-ground Carpet, 7 Barred Straws, Barred Yellow, Common Pug, V-Pug, 2 Double-striped Pugs, Clouded Border, Scorched Wing, Brimstone Moth, Lilac Beauty, Swallow-tailed Moth, 4 Willow Beauties, Mottled Beauty, 2 Common White Waves, Common Wave, 3 Light Emeralds, Coxcomb Prominent, Buff-tip, 7 Rosy Footmen, 8 Common Footmen, 8 Buff Ermines, Cinnabar, Short-cloaked Moth, 2 Flames, Large Yellow Underwing, 2 Double Square-spots, 2 Bright-line Brown-eyes, Clay, 2 Smoky Wainscots, 8 Brown Rustics, Small Angle Shades, Dark Arches, 21 Uncertains, 2 Mottled Rustics, Burnished Brass, 3 Beautiful Hook-tips, 3 Straw Dots, 6 Snouts and 4 Fan-foots.   There was also a Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis inside the house.

Gold Triangle Hypsopygia costalis, North Elmham, 22nd June

Bugs included another Macrotylus solitarius - the third for Norfolk after the one I caught the previous night.  Also a Stenotus binotatus with an unidentified mite on its right eye.  Caddisflies included Leptocerus tineiformis.

Macrotylus solitarius, North Elmham, 22nd June

Stenotus binotatus with mite, North Elmham, 22nd June

Second-for-Norfolk bug and lots of other insects

I just posted about all the moths I trapped on the night of 21st June and as promised, here are the other insects that turned up in the trap.  The highlight had to be one of the bugs.  I narrowed it down to either Macrotylus horvathi or Macrotylus solitarius.  It had a black spot on each wing membrane as horvathi does, but the spots weren't circular as they're meant to be on horvathi.  I didn't think there was any dense dark spotting on the femora (as shown by horvathi) but there were a lot of black hairs and I wasn't 100% certain if I'd be able to tell if the dark spots were just at the very base of each hair.  As there were no records of either showing on the NBN Atlas in Norfolk I checked with Rob Coleman, county recorder for bugs.  He in turn checked with bug ace Tristan Bantock who apparently confirmed that it was Macrotylus solitarius, and Rob subsequently informed me that it is only the second record of this species in Norfolk.  Well I've had two more since...

Macrotylus solitarius, North Elmham, 21st June

Among the other bugs 2 Phylus coryli were a new species for me.  There was also a Birch Shieldbug.

Phylus coryli, North Elmham, 21st June

No less than seven species of Lacewing included 4 green lacewings all new for the year here (Chrysopidia ciliata, 2 Cunctochrysa albolineata, 2 Dichochrysa flavifrons and Dichochrysa prasina), 2 brown lacewings (2 Hemerobius humulinus and one that I'd never identified before: Wesmaelius subnebulosus.) and at least one species of Waxfly (two female Conwentzia sp. - only the males can be identified).

Chrysopidia ciliata, North Elmham, 21st June

Cunctochrysa albolineata, North Elmham, 21st June

Dichochrysa flavifrons, North Elmham, 21st June

Dichochrysa prasina, North Elmham, 21st June

Wesmaelius subnebulosus, North Elmham, 21st June

Caddisflies included a new species for me: Cyrnus trimaculatus.  Others were Hydropsyche angustipennis, a new one for the garden, Athripsodes aterrimus and Mystacides longicornis.

Cyrnus trimaculatus (female), North Elmham, 21st June

Hydropsyche angustipennis (female), North Elmham, 21st June

The beetles were good too - no lifers but three that I hadn't recorded here before (one or two probably only because I haven't been looking at them closely enough, though I think I might have picked up on the ladybird in previous years if I'd seen one) - a Glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca, the click beetle Melanotus villosus and a 10-spot Ladybird.  There was also a Harleqin Ladybird.

Glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca, North Elmham, 21st June

10-spot Ladybird, North Elmham, 21st June

Mayflies were represented by 3 Serratella ignita and finally there were 2 Common Frogs looking on.