Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Slenders and Midgets (Gracillariidae) (part 3: Parornix)

SLENDERS and MIDGETS (GRACILLARIIDAE) (continued)

With the genus Parornix you can sometimes make a pretty good educated guess as to which species is involved but unfortunately they require dissection to prove the ID.  This can be quite rewarding as you can find a good range of species occurring in the same locality.

This isn't going to be a colourful page though...



Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae - Just one at home in 2019, on 25th July.  Having averaged 4.5 a year that was quite a poor showing but I made up for it in 2020 with a record 9 between 18th July and 7th September.  Elsewhere recorded in 2019 at Sculthorpe Moor (26th April) and Swanton Great Wood (27th August).

male Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae, Sculthorpe Moor, 26th April 2019

male Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae, North Elmham, 25th July 2019

female Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae, North Elmham, 18th July 2020

female Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae, North Elmham, 23rd July 2020

male Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae, North Elmham, 19th August 2020

female Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae, North Elmham, 20th August 2020

Beech Slender Parornix fagivora - One found inside the house on 23rd July 2019.  This was a completely new species for me which makes it all the more remarkable that I caught 4 in 2020, on 17th May, 27th July and 5th and 6th August.  My 7th Parornix species here - just the Hornbeam species left now I think (carpinella), but that one's going to be tricky with just one Norfolk record so far.

female Beech Slender Parornix fagivora, North Elmham, 23rd July 2019

female Beech Slender Parornix fagivora, North Elmham, 5th August 2020

male Beech Slender Parornix fagivora, North Elmham, 6th August 2020

Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella - 10 here between 22nd April and 31st August 2019, making it my joint best year for them here (level with 2018), but the record was broken in 2020 with 19 between 11th April and 19th August.  Also 5 at the meadows (1 in 2019, 4 in 2020) and singles at Sculthorpe Moor and Weybourne in 2019.

male Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th May 2019

male Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 8th June 2020

male Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella, North Elmham, 9th August 2020

male Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella, North Elmham, 17th August 2020

Hazel Slender Parornix devoniella - 4 caught at home between 24th April and 16th July 2019, half the number recorded in 2018.  An unprecedented total of 23 caught here between 18th May and 15th August 2020.  None anywhere else.

male Hazel Slender Parornix devoniella, North Elmham, 24th April 2019

female Hazel Slender Parornix devoniella, North Elmham, 20th May 2020

female Hazel Slender Parornix devoniella, North Elmham, 1st July 2020

female Hazel Slender Parornix devoniella, North Elmham, 26th July 2020

female Hazel Slender Parornix devoniella, North Elmham, 1st August 2020

female Hazel Slender Parornix devoniella, North Elmham, 10th August 2020

Rowan Slender Parornix scoticella - Singles caught in my garden moth trap on 30th July and 7th August 2020.  Previously I'd only caught this species here twice, in 2014 and 2018.

male Rowan Slender Parornix scoticella, North Elmham, 30th July 2020

male Rowan Slender Parornix scoticella, North Elmham, 7th August 2020

Pointed Slender Parornix finitimella - None.  I've caught 5 of these here in the previous 3 years (3 in 2018).


Blackthorn Slender Parornix torquillella - One at the meadows on 25th May 2019 then 4 in the garden moth trap up to 27th August.  I had caught 14 here in 2018 but apart from that 2019's showing was fairly typical.  But 2020 saw a new record with 18 between 22nd May and 19th August.

A leaf-fold on Blackthorn at the meadows on 14th October could in theory have been this species or finitimella so I examined the larva to see if its legs had black rings or if they were concolorous with the body.  Well they certainly didn't have black rings (which finitimella should have) though I would argue that they weren't quite concolourous with the body having vaguely greyish rings.  I decided to rear it through but what emerged on 2nd November was a parasitic wasp (which, with the help of Gavin Broad, was a Diadegma sp., probably Diadegma crataegi).

male Blackthorn Slender Parornix torquillella, North Elmham, 9th August 2019

larva of Blackthorn Slender Parornix torquillella, North Elmham, 14th October 2019

male Blackthorn Slender Parornix torquillella, North Elmham, 22nd May 2020

female Blackthorn Slender Parornix torquillella, North Elmham, 8th August 2020

male Blackthorn Slender Parornix torquillella, North Elmham, 9th August 2020

female Blackthorn Slender Parornix torquillella, North Elmham, 10th August 2020

Next page: more Gracillariidae (Phyllonorycters)

Field Grasshopper, new for the moth trap

The night of Friday 21st July was another good one with 109 species recorded at home.  These included another New Poplar Pigmy Ectoedemia hannoverella, my third this summer - surprising for a species that has never been recorded further north than this in Norfolk at all, not even by its leaf-mines which are usually the easiest way to record Ectoedemia species.  This one was much more worn so I wouldn't have been confident about the ID without recognising the genitalia (though there were enough scales left on it for me to suspect the correct ID).

* Edit 2018: OK, a bit too surprising.  I got a bit more suspicious after having another in 2018 - all these records seem 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.

Five new species for the year were also small micros - Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae, White Oak Midget Phyllonorycter harrisella, Garden Midget Phyllonorycter messaniella, Gold-ribbon Argent Argyresthia brockeella and Golden Argent Argyresthia goedartella.

Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae (male, gen det), North Elmham, 21st July 2017

A count of 14 Horse Chestnut Leaf-miners Cameraria ohridella was twice my previous best for my garden trap - I'm sure I wouldn't have to go far to find its foodplant but there's none in the immediate vicinity so far as I know.

The other micros were Carrion Moth Monopis weaverella, Oak Bent-wing Bucculatrix ulmella, Common Oak Midget Phyllonorycter quercifoliella, Red Hazel Midget Phyllonorycter nicellii, Willow Bent-wing Phyllocnistis saligna, 24 Bird-cherry Ermines Yponomeuta evonymella, Common Oak Case-bearer Coleophora lutipennella, Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, 4 Golden-brown Tubics Crassa unitella, Small Dingy Tubic Borkhausenia fuscescens, 2 Brown House Moths Hofmannophila pseudospretella, 6 Long-horned Flat-bodies Carcina quercana, Common Flat-body Agonopterix heracliana, 5 Cinereous Groundlings Bryotropha terrella, Gorse Crest Brachmia blandella, Four-spotted Obscure Oegoconia quadripuncta, 6 Dingy Dowds Blastobasis adustella, Common Cosmet Mompha epilobiella, Hawthorn Cosmet Blastodacna hellerella, Hook-marked Straw Moth Agapeta hamana, 4 Dark Fruit-tree Tortrixes Pandemis heparana, 2 Light Brown Apple Moths Epiphyas postvittana, Red-barred Tortrix Ditula angustiorana, Grey Tortrix Cnephasia stephensiana, Dover Shade Cnephasia genitalana, Maple Button Acleris forsskaleana, Dark-triangle Button Acleris laterana, Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, 3 Common Cloaked Shoots Gypsonoma dealbana, Summer Rose Bell Notocelia roborana, Large Beech Piercer Cydia fagiglandana, 3 Marbled Piercers Cydia splendana, 9 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Grass-veneers Crambus pascuella, 26 Pearl Veneers Agriphila straminella, 6 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 2 Pearl Grass-veneers Catoptria pinella, Water Veneer Acentria ephemerella, Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis, 2 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, 7 Small Greys Eudonia mercurella, 2 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, Elder Pearl Anania coronata, 2 Pale Straw Pearls Udea lutealis, 2 Dusky Pearls Udea prunalis, 17 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, 6 Rosy Tabbies Endotricha flammealis, 8 Grey Knot-horns Acrobasis advenella, Brown Plume Stenoptilia pterodactyla and Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla.

Oak Bent-wing Bucculatrix ulmella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 21st July 2017

Red Hazel Midget Phyllonorycter nicellii (male, gen det), North Elmham, 21st July 2017

Large Beech Piercer Cydia fagiglandana, North Elmham, 21st July 2017

Among the macros Copper Underwing and 2 Fen Wainscots were new for the year.

Copper Underwing (male, gen det), North Elmham, 21st July 2017

Fen Wainscot, North Elmham, 21st July 2017

The other macros were 4 Chinese Characters, Buff Arches, 3 Blood-veins, Least Carpet, 3 Small Fan-footed Waves, Dwarf Cream Wave, 8 Single-dotted Waves, 2 Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets, Large Twin-spot Carpet, 2 Common Carpets, Yellow Shell, Lime-speck Pug, Wormwood Pug, 2 Currant Pugs, 3 Double-striped Pugs, Yellow-barred Brindle, Magpie Moth, 2 Clouded Borders, Scorched Carpet, 2 Brimstone Moths, Early Thorn, Scalloped Oak, Swallow Prominent, 2 Yellow-tails, 3 Rosy Footmen, 14 Dingy Footmen, 3 Scarce Footmen, 2 Buff Footmen, 7 Common Footmen, 3 Buff Ermines, 2 Ruby Tigers, 2 Shuttle-shaped Darts, 3 Large Yellow Underwings, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Double Square-spot, 5 Nutmegs, 2 Smoky Wainscots, Dun-bar, 4 Dark Arches, Cloaked Minor, Common Rustic, Lesser Common Rustic (plus 2 Common Rustic aggs. that escaped), 3 Uncertains, 2 Rustics, Cream-bordered Green Pea, 4 Nut-tree Tussocks, 2 Straw Dots and 3 Snouts.

A Field Grasshopper in the trap was, perhaps surprisingly, a species I'd not recorded in the garden before.

Field Grasshopper, North Elmham, 21st July 2017

There were 3 species of mayfly: 2 Pond Olives Cloeon dipterum, Lake Olive Cloeon simile and Blue-winged Olive Serratella ignita. Having the recent experience of catching relatively large numbers of Cloeon dipterum and seeing both sexes moulting from sub-imago to imago increaesd my confidence in identifying mayflies but with no subsequent records of Cloeon simile until now I'd started to wonder about some of my older records of that species.  At some point I'll check my photos but at least I now know that this species definitely does occur here sometimes.

Lake Olive Cloeon simile, North Elmham, 21st July 2017

A good number of green lacewings too, if not a huge variety: 5 Cunctochrysa albolineata, 16 Dichochrysa flavifrons and Dichochrysa prasina. Caddisflies consisted of 3 Hydropsyche siltalai, Medium Sedge Goera pilosa, Limnephilus flavicornis, 2 Athripsodes aterrimus and Ceraclea dissimilis.

Limnephilus flavicornis (male), North Elmham, 21st July 2017

I had to dissect it to figure out what it was but eventually identified this leafhopper as Alebra albostriella, a new species for me.

Alebra albostriella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 21st July 2017

Other bugs were the mirid bugs Lygus pratensis (new for the year) and Pinalitus cervinus and the leafhoppers Iassus lanio and Lamprotettix nitidulus.

Pinalitus cervinus, North Elmham, 21st July 2017

Two beetles were new for the house (not that I would have identified them prior to this year): the water beetle Ilybius ater and the click beetle Stenagostus rhombeus.  Other beetles were the Sexton beetle Nicrophorus investigator, 3 Aphodius rufipes and a Harlequin Ladybird.

 Ilybius ater, North Elmham, 21st July 2017

Stenagostus rhombeus, North Elmham, 21st July 2017

Last year when the next door neighbour's grandson was staying I loaned them my spare trap and went round in the mornings to go through it with them.  He evidently enjoyed it and popped round to see if I would do it again this year, which of course I was delighted to do.

A good variety of macro moths kept him entertained inlcuding Pebble Hook-tip, Large Emerald, Blood-vein, Small Blood-vein, Single-dotted Waves, Riband Waves, 3 Magpie Moths, 2 Clouded Borders, Brimstone Moth, Canary-shouldered Thorn, Early Thorn, Scalloped Oak, 2 Willow Beauties, Rosy Footman, Buff Ermines, 2 Ruby Tigers, Flame Shoulder, 2 Large Yellow Underwings, Clay, Dun-bar, Dusky Sallow, Uncertains, Rustics, Nut-tree Tussocks and Straw Dot.

I didn't attempt to keep a complete count or list of every species but the micros I noted were Clover Case-bearer Coleophora alcyonipennella, Yarrow Conch Aethes smeathmanniana, Cnephasia sp., Maple Button Acleris forsskaleana, Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Grass-veneers Crambus pascuella, Yellow Satin Veneer Crambus perlella, Pearl Veneers Agriphila straminella, Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella and Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis.

Foulden Common

My first night back after my trip to Cornwall was a poor one for moths with just Yellow-barred Brindle, Early Thorn and 2 Hebrew Characters.  The first of those was a new species for the year.

Yellow-barred Brindle, North Elmham, 8th April

There was also this tiny juvenile Common Earwig and, in the house, another Varied Carpet Beetle.

Common Earwig, North Elmham, 8th April

Sunshine the next day produced Brimstone butterflies at a couple of places and in the evening I headed off to have a look round Foulden Common.  This is a site I've never visited before but have heard it mentioned a few times in the context of mothing.  The exposed parts of the west side of the common were too breezy to be any good but I caught Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae and Double-striped Pug here, along with the green and brown lacewings Chrysoperla canea and Hemerobius humulinus.

Brown Birch Slender Paronix betulae (male, gen det), Foulden Common, 9th April

Hemerobius humulinus, Foulden Common, 9th April

The eastern side was more sheltered and I netted another Double-striped Pug and an Early Purple Eriocrania semipurpurella.  The latter are quite hard to identify with certainty and although I had probably seen it before I hadn't managed to confirm any of the previous ones, so good to get one I was happy with at last.

Early Purple Eriocrania semipurpurella (female, gen det), Foulden Common, 9th April

Actually "gen det" simplifies it a bit too much - the ID was done through a combination of the hindwing scale width, the size and separaton of the sensoria (basically holes) on the bottom of the abdomen and a tiny little bit of its genitalia.

This leafhopper was a very common species, Empoasca vitis.

Empoasca vitis, Foulden Common, 9th April

As it got dark I decided conditions weren't good enough to bother setting up the MV light but did another quick circuit of the common with a headtorch.  This confirmed my suspicion that conditions were not good as all I added were Water Carpet and Early Thorn.  Oh, and a few click-beetles flying around which all looked the same and the one I retained for checking proved to be Dalopius marginatus.

Dalopius marginatus, Foulden Common, 9th April

Not many moths at home either, although 3 different micros made for a change.  These were Streaked Flat-body Depressaria chaerophylli (new for the year and a species I've only seen twice before) Common Flat-body Agonopterix heracliana and another new one for the year, Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea.  Macros consisted of Shoulder Stripe, 2 Streamers and 3 Hebrew Characters.

Streaked Flat-body Depressaria chaerophylli (female, gen det), North Elmham, 9th April

Other insects in the trap were a Black Sexton Beetle and a new hoverfly species for me, Platycheirus albimanus.  Most examples of this genus (which I'd never encountered before) are characterised by the modifications on the front tarsi which you can see in the image below (the yellow feet sticking out behind the eyes).

Platycheirus albimanus, North Elmham, 9th April

The following night another Streaked Flat-body Depressaria chaerophylli was the highlight.  Muslin Moth was new for the year and there were also Streamer, Early Thorn, Oak Beauty and 2 Hebrew Characters. A German Wasp was also new for the year.

Streaked Flat-body Depressaria chaerophylli (male, gen det), North Elmham, 10th April

Muslin Moth, North Elmham, 10th April

German Wasp, North Elmham, 10th April