Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Pyralids (Pyralidae) - part 1: Aphomia to Nephopterix (Bee and Wax Moths and Knot-horns I)

PYRALIDS (PYRALIDAE)


Bee Moth Aphomia sociella - One at home on 21st March 2019 was a whole month earlier than I've ever found this species before.  Otherwise a total of 57 between 16th May and 25th July 2019 and 54 between 8th May and 29th July 2020, which are about average totals here.   Elsewhere 9 at the meadows and one at Bintree Wood.

Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, North Elmham, 21st March 2019

Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, North Elmham, 8th May 2020

Lesser Wax Moth Achroia grisella - None.  I've not seen this species locally but there are a few records from the mid Wensum valley area so it may turn up here.


Wax Moth Galleria mellonella - None in 2019 but one in the garden on 23rd July 2020 and then one at the meadows on 8th September.  I've had 6 records here since moving in in 2014, but all in even years.

Wax Moth Galleria mellonella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 8th September 2020

Double-striped Knot-horn Cryptoblabes bistriga - One at Swanton Great Wood on 27th August 2019 and one at Hills and Holes on 21st May 2020.  I've only ever had one in the garden, in 2015.

male Double-striped Knot-horn Cryptoblabes bistriga, Swanton Great Wood, 27th August 2019

Brown Knot-horn Matilella fusca - None.  I've not seen this any closer than Marsham Heath.  The species seems to be pretty widespread in the east of the county but there are no records from the west half of central Norfolk.  Yet.


Brown Powdered Knot-horn Delplanqueia inscriptella - None, my first full years here without recording this spccies (it had been averaging 2 a year).


Rosy-striped Knot-horn Oncocera semirubella - None.  This distinctive species seems to be increasing and becoming established in Norfolk with widespread records, but it hasn't graced my garden yet and nor have I found it anywhere else.  Hopefully it won't be long before I connect.


Heather Knot-horn Pempelia palumbella - None.  Although I've found this species quite easily at several different heathland sites I get the impression it doesn't tend to wander far from heaths and I've never recorded it anywhere else.


Beautiful Knot-horn Rhodophaea formosa - One in the garden trap on 24th June 2019.  Numbers here have ranged from zero (2017 and again in 2020) to 4 (2018).  Also one at Weybourne on 5th July 2019.

Beautiful Knot-horn Rhodophaea formosa, North Elmham, 24th June 2019

New Pine Knot-horn Dioryctria sylvestrella - One in the garden on 22nd July 2019.  I caught this species at home on 3 previous occasions, once in 2015 and twice in 2018.  Elsewhere one at Swanton Great Wood on 27th August 2019.

New Pine Knot-horn Dioryctria sylvestrella, Swanton Great Wood, 27th August 2019

New Pine Knot-horn Dioryctria sylvestrella, North Elmham, 22nd July 2020

Brown Pine Knot-horn Dioryctria simpliciella - None.  I've recorded this species at home twice (2016 and 2018).


Dark Pine Knot-horn Dioryctria abietella - None.  I've recorded this species at home twice too (2014 and 2017).


Dotted Oak Knot-horn Phycita roborella - 2019 was my best year for this species at home with at least 20 (not counted on a couple of nights) between 13th July and 7th August.  That total is as many as I'd recorded here between moving in in August 2014 and the end of 2018.  Not a bad year again in 2020 with 10 between 25th June and 15th August.  Elsewhere one next door, 7 at the meadows and one at Bintree Wood.

Dotted Oak Knot-horn Phycita roborella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th July 2019

Dotted Oak Knot-horns Phycita roborella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 18th July 2020

Spindle Knot-horn Nephopterix angustella - One trapped at home on 23rd September 2019 was a new moth for the garden and only my third anywhere but it was followed by 2 more in the garden in 2020, on 1st and 16th August.  This species has increased massively in the last few years.

Spindle Knot-horn Nephopterix angustella, North Elmham, 23rd September 2019

Spindle Knot-horn Nephopterix angustella, North Elmham, 1st August 2020

Next page: more Pyralidae

Spindle Knot-horn

I ran a light in the meadows for a while on the evening of 12th August and caught a few moths.  The most unexpected moth was Spindle Knot-horn Nephopterix angustella, only the second time I have seen this species.  I've not located any Spindle here so not sure where it came from.

Spindle Knot-horn Nephopterix angustella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Other highlights included 2 New Oak Slenders Caloptilia robustella, Hawthorn Midget Phyllonorycter corylifoliella, Large Lance-wing Epermenia falciformis, Wax Moth Galleria mellonella and Cream-bordered Green Pea.

New Oak Slender Caloptilia robustella (male, gen det), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Hawthorn Midget Phyllonorcyter corylifoliella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Large Lance-wing Epermenia falciformis, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Wax Moth Galleria mellonella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Cream-bordered Green Pea, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

The other moths were Horse-Chestnut Leaf-miner Cameraria ohridella, 3 Golden Argents Argyresthia goedartella, 2 Bird-cherry Ermines Yponomeuta evonymella, Little Ermine Swammerdamia pyrella, Ash-bud Moth Prays fraxinella, Wainscot Smudge Ypsolopha scabrella, Clover Case-bearer Coleophora alcyonipennella, Long-horned Flat-body Carcina quercana, Common Flat-body Agonopterix heracliana, Common Yellow Conch Agapeta hamana, 3 Knapweed Conches Agapeta zoegana, Chamomile Conch Cochylidia implicitana, 3 Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrixes Pandemis corylana, Maple Button Acleris forsskaleana, Smoky-barred Marble Lobesia abscisana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana, 50 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 2 Water Veneers Acentria ephemerella, 2 Ringed China-marks Parapoynx stratiotata, Beautiful China-mark Nymphula nitidulata, Pale Straw Pearl Udea lutealis, 8 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, Grey Knot-horn Acrobasis advenella, 2 Oak Hook-tips, Blood-vein, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet, 2 Common Carpets, Purple Bar, Lime-speck Pug, 2 Brimstone Moths, 3 Dusky Thorns, Peppered Moth, Willow Beauty, Poplar Hawk-moth, Swallow Prominent, Black Arches, Dingy Footman, 3 Turnip Moths, Shuttle-shaped Dart, 2 Flame Shoulders, 2 Large Yellow Underwings, 5 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, 6 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 3 Six-striped Rustics, 3 Common Wainscots, Copper Underwing, Straw Underwing, Dun-bar, 2 Cloaked Minors, Rosy Rustic, 2 Vine's Rustics, Silver Y and Straw Dot.

Rosy Rustic, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Straw Underwing, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

This sub-imago Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum later moulted into its imago stage:

Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August - the same mayfly in both photos taken a day or two apart before and after its moult

Lacewings included Chrysopa commata, Chrysoperla carnea agg. and the waxfly Coniopteryx tineiformis.  A good selection of caddisflies were recorded including Hydroptila sparsa, Ithytrichia lamellaris, Hydropsyche pellucidula, Hydropsyche siltalai, Limnephilus auricula, Limnephilus lunatus, Limnephilus marmoratus, Limnephilus rhombicus, 3 Molanna angustata, Athripsodes albifrons and Ceraclea albimacula.

Athripsodes albifrons, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Ceraclea albimacula, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Bugs included 2 Hawthorn Shieldbugs, Forest Bug, Tarnished Plant Bug Lygus rugulipennis, Phytocoris varipes and the leafhopper Kybos strigilifer.

Kybos strigilifer (male, gen det), North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Beetles included Strawberry Seed Beetle Harpalus rufipes, probably 30 Bradycellus verbascis (2 checked properly, others probably the same), 2 Aphodius rufipes, Lagria hirta and Acorn Weevil Curculio glandium.  Also a Hydrophiliid that has so far defied my best efforts to identify it.

Strawberry Seed Beetle Harpalus rufipes, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Bradycellus verbasci, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Acorn Weevil Curculio glandium, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Other insects inluded Oak Bush-cricket, the hoverfly Eupeodes latifasciatus and 2 German Wasps.  (Edit: I reported before that one of these had stung me.  I got mixed up - it was actually on 19th August I got stung, possibly by a Common Wasp not a German Wasp.  Not the first time something German has been blamed for something that was fairly and squarely the fault of common Brits).

Oak Bush-cricket, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

Eupeodes latifasciatus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August

A rare new moth for Norfolk at Surlingham

On Saturday 26th August the Norfolk Moth Survey went to Brickyard Fen at Surlingham, close to the Ted Ellis reserve.  The weather was ok-ish and the habitat looked interesting so we were keen to see what we might catch.  It proved to be an excellent night with lots of interesting moths including three that were new to me.

The best of these was a fantastic find, picked out of Garry's trap it was passed round the group of us to look at.  I was last in line this time and had to listed to person after person deliberating over it, and struggling to put a name to it.  I was keen to see it - it sounded interesting!  Finally it reached me and I agreed with others that it looked like a Gynnidomorpha sp. or something similar, but not a species I recognised either.  A quick look at the British Moths app on my phone came up with a good match for Coast Conch Gynnidomoprha permixtana but the range map suggested that this species did not occur in East Anglia.  I had no internet connectivity here so couldn't investigate any further and took the moth home to have a more careful look.

Back at home a closer look and further investigation confirmed that it did indeed look like permixtana, but this would be a very significant record.  I found a picture of Gynnidomorpha vectisana that looked pretty close and deduced that this could not be positively ruled out without dissection.  Vectisana is fairly unlikely here, being a coastal species, but perhaps more likely than a species that hadn't been recorded in East Anglia before!  I couldn't find any other serious contenders though I couldn't be 100% sure that certain other species couldn't ever look like this.  Now it needed the chop to determine, but it wasn't entirely clear to me whether I would be able to resolve it even then - the differences in genitalia aren't huge.  One little bit of the genitalia has stout hairs on its tip in one species and fine bristles on the other species.  Would I be able to tell the difference between a stout hair and a fine bristle?  I wasn't sure, but by comparing what I could see with images on the internet I was now almost completely sure that we were indeed dealing with permixtana.  However, I thought I'd best get it checked out so sent photos to Jon Clifton for his advice.  He was pretty sure too, but in view of the significance of the record he forwarded my photos to Bob Heckford who is an expert on the species.  In the meantime Stuart reminded me of what I had forgotten he had said on the night, that there was a large amount of Red Bartsia growing at the site, one of permixtana's favourite foodplants. Finally we heard back from Bob... it was indeed Gynnidomorpha permixtana!

Coast Conch Gynnidomorpha permixtana (male, gen det, confirmed by J Clifton/B Heckford), Surlingham Brickyard Fen, 26th August

Far less unusual but still new moths for me were White-bodied Conch Cochylis hybridella and Spindle Knot-horn Nephopterix angustella.

White-bodied Conch Cochylis hybridella, Surlingham Brickyard Fen, 26th August

Spindle Know-horn Nephopterix angustella, Surlingham Brickyard Fen, 26th August

Other good records included 2 Large Lance-wings Epermenia falciformis, Oblique Carpet, Balsam Carpet, Bordered Beauty, Vapourer, 2 Crescents and 6 Webb's Wainscots.

Balsam Carpet, Surlingham Brickyard Fen, 26th August

There was quite a bit of discussion about the ID of this Gold Spot with at least one person seemingly convinced it was Lempke's Gold Spot.  I wasn't convinced, but hoped he was right as it is a species I can't seem to find, so took it home to dissect and confirm.  Sadly it was just a Gold Spot (one of 5, not that I retained any more but we were all agreed about the others).

Gold Spot (male, gen det), Surlingham Brickyard Fen, 26th August

The other moths I saw were these (as usual for events like this the counts are the mimimum number I could remember seeing - there were probably lots more): Cork Moth Nemapogon cloacella, Golden Argent Argyresthia goedartella, 4 Triple-spot Dwarfs Elachista maculicerusella, 2 Hook-marked Straw Moths Agapeta hamana, 4 Cyclamen Tortrixes Clepsis spectrana, 8 Light Brown Apple Moths Epiphyas postvittana, 20 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 2 Smoky-barred Marbles Lobesia abscisana, 2 Rush Marbles Bactra lancealana, Grey Poplar Bell Epinotia nisella, Wainscot Veneer Chilo phragmitella, Bulrush Veneer Calamotropha paludella, 3 Pearl Veneers Agriphila straminella, 2 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, Ground-moss Grey Eudonia truncicolella, 5 Brown China-marks Elophila nymphaeata, Mother of Pearl Pleuroptya ruralis, 2 Orange Swifts, 4 Chinese Characters, 2 Lesser Cream Waves, Common Carpet, Yellow Shell, 2 Common Marbled Carpets, 4 Green Carpets, Currant Pug, Clouded Border, 5 Brimstone Moths, 3 Dusky Thorns, 2 Willow Beauties, Engrailed, Common White Wave, 2 Common Waves, 5 Light Emeralds, Round-winged Muslin, Dingy Footman, 2 Ruby Tigers, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Flame, 10 Flame Shoulders, 25 Large Yellow Underwings, 2 Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, 10 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, Small Square-spot, 25 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 6 Six-striped Rustics, 10 Square-spot Rustics, Cabbage Moth, Bright-line Brown-eye, 2 White-points, 2 Common Wainscots, Grey Dagger, 4 Copper Underwings, 3 Angle Shades, 2 Small Wainscots, Rosy Rustic, Vine's Rustic, 3 Burnished Brasses, 8 Spectacles, Red Underwing, 3 Straw Dots, 4 Snouts and Pinion-streaked Snout.

Small Wainscot, Surlingham Brickyard Fen, 26th August

Two leafhoppers both proved to be new species for me: Macrosteles viridigriseus and Eupteryx aurata.  Other insects included 3 Pond Olives Cloeon dipterum, Slender Groundhopper, Birch Shieldbug and Forest Bug.

Macrosteles viridigriseus, Surlingham Brickyard Fen, 26th August

Eupteryx aurata, Surlingham Brickyard Fen, 26th August

After all that I might have expected a reasonable night at home, but it was rubbish! Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, 2 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, 5 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 2 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 3 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneers Agriphila geniculea, Single-dotted Wave, Brimstone Moth, 3 Willow Beauties, 2 Large Yellow Underwings, Lesser Yellow Underwing, 2 Small Square-spots, 2 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 2 Square-spot Rustics, 4 Common Wainscots, 5 Flounced Rustics and Rosy Rustic.  Also the mayflies Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum and Blue-winged Olive Serratella ignita, the caddisflies Hydropsyche pellucidula and Grouse Wing Mystacides longicornis and the beetles Black Clock Beetle Pterostichus madidus and 2 Aphodius rufipes.

Perhaps one reason there weren't many moths at home was this frog... They've been becoming more adventurous, starting off sitting on the sheet round the outside of the trap, then hopping up on top of the trap and it was only a matter of time before I found one inside the trap.

Common Frog, North Elmham, 26th August

Potentially the best moth the following night escaped before I could confirm it.  I wondered if it was a Pearly Underwing as it appeared to show a bit of a thoracic crest, but this wasn't particularly clear and in hindsight I feel it was more likely just a Turnip Moth (either way it would have been new for the year).  Other moths were Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana, 3 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 2 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneers Agriphila geniculea, Chinese Character, Blood-vein, 3 Single-dotted Waves, Dusky Thorn, Willow Beauty, 2 Light Emeralds, 4 Lesser Yellow Underwings, Small Square-spot, 2 Six-striped Rustics, 3 Common Wainscots, 5 Flounced Rustics, Rosy Rustic and 2 Burnished Brasses. Also Blue-winged Olive Serratella ignita, Limnephilus lunatus and Aphodius rufipes.