Dowdy Plume - a couple of months early!

The highlight on the night of Saturday 17th May was a Large Long-horn Nematopogon swammerdamella.  I've seen a lot of these this year (a good year, or just me getting out more than normal?) but this was my first at home.

Large Long-horn Nematopogon Swammerdamella, North Elmham, 17th May

Otherwise it was a quiet night with 2 Little Dwarfs Elachista canapennella, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Green Carpet, 2 Common Pugs, White Ermine, Muslin Moth, 4 Treble Lines and 3 Limnephilus auriculas (caddis).   The following night Clouded Border was new for the year but apart from that there were just 2 Green Carpets, White Ermine and Spectacle.

A few more moths on Monday 19th but only Silver-ground Carpet was new for the year for the garden.  Others were Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella, Maiden's Blush, Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet, Green Carpet, Sandy Carpet, Mottled Pug, Muslin Moth, Cinnabar, Heart and Dart, Clouded-bordered Brindle and 2 Treble Lines.  Also the caddis Glyphotaelius pellucidus (2).

Silver-ground Carpet, North Elmham, 19th May

Next day I found what I initially assumed to be yet another Varied Carpet Beetle in the house.  This one was darker than normal though so I looked a bit more closely and found a few more differences.  It proved to be the closely-related Anthrenus fuscus, a new one for me.

Anthrenus fuscus, North Elmham, 20th May

No new moths for the year that night: Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Common Swift, Silver-ground Carpet, 2 Green Carpets, Mottled Pug, Peppered Moth, Waved Umber, Cinnabar, Heart and Dart and 3 Treble Lines.  However the caddisfly Limnephilus vittatus was new for the year.

Limnephilus vittatus, North Elmham, 20th May

Peppered Moth, North Elmham, 20th May

Next day this Early Bumblebee appeared in the garden (not very early).  It appears to be the first time I've identified this species here.

Early Bumblebee, North Elmham, 21st May

A few moths seen at Ryburgh over this period included Plain Golds Micropterix calthella, Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana and Silver-ground Carpets.  This Sulphur Tubic Esperia sulphurella appeared on the hide window ledge as I was looking out.

Sulphur Tubic Esperia sulphurella, Great Ryburgh, 20th May

Beetles at Ryburgh included Dalopius marginatus.

I went up to Burnham Overy on Wednesday 21st and found a few moths of note.  Most surprising was this plume moth.  It recalled examples I'd found in precisely the same place last year which proved to be Dowdy Plume Stenoptilia zophodactylus and I retained this one to check if it was.  When taking it through the key I landed on Brown Plume Stenoptilia pterodactyla on account of the brown (rather than grey) first lobe.  In truth it was greyish brown and I wasn't convinced it was pterodactyla - though a much commoner species these normally look a warmer brown colour overall.  However zophodactylus isn't meant to fly until July, so it couldn't possibly be that, I thought.  Well it was a male and its genitalia showed very obvious projections to the apex of the tegumen which seems to be a diagnostic feature of zophodactlus.  Moreover the uncus didn't extend beyond the tegumen which it should on pterodactyla.  I couldn't find the anellus arms (presumably they came away during the prep?) but I think there's enough without them to establish this as Dowdy Plume Stenoptilia zophodactylus - leaving only the question of what it was doing flying in May?!  Is this species developing a new first generation maybe, as several other species have done in recent year?

Dowdy Plume Stenoptilia zophodactylus (male, gen det), Burnham Overy, 21st May

Less surprising was this Breckland Plume Crombrugghia distans.

Breckland Plume Crombrugghia distans, Burnham Overy, 21st May

This Long-horn looked small making me suspect Small Barred Long-horn Adela croesella over Yellow-barred Long-horn Nematopogon degeerella.  But I couldn't catch it and couldn't positively judge some of the usual features from my slightly ropey photos.  In the end I settled on Adela croesella, partly due to the apparent size and partly because of the way the yellow band curved round to hit the costa perpendicularly.  Not sure if this is a reliable feature or not but on most degeerella it seems to hit the costa angled slightly towards the apex.

Small Barred Long-horn Adela croesella, Burnham Overy, 21st May

Other moths recorded at Burnham Overy included 2 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana, 15 Plain Fanners Glyphipterix fuscoviridella, Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis, Desert Groundling Bryotropha desertella, 3 Downland Conches Aethes tesserana, Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana, 3 Light Brown Apple Moths Epiphyas postvittana, 2 Yellow-faced Bells Notocelia cynosbatella, Meadow Grey Scoparia pyralella, 2 Green Carpets and 3 Cinnabars. Also a couple of Yellow-tail caterpillars.

Downland Conch Aethes tesserana, Burnham Overy, 21st May

Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis, Burnham Overy, 21st May

Desert Groundling Bryotropha desertella, Burnham Overy, 21st May

This beetle proved to be Common Grammoptera Grammoptera ruficornis.

Common Grammoptera Grammoptera ruficornis, Burnham Overy, 21st May

That night at home the only moths were 2 Little Dwarfs Elachista canapennella, Poplar Hawkmoth, 4 White Ermines, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Flame Shoulder and 5 Treble Lines.

Poplar Hawkmoth, North Elmham, 21st May

Other insects included Common Earwig and my first Cockchafer of the year here.

Cockchafer, North Elmham, 21st May

Red-barred Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet

Identification of Red and Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets is complicated by the fact that some Red Twin-spot Carpets have dark bars while some Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets have red bars.  Previously cited characters like the little indent into the bar are now considered unreliable and Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet is said to be verging on rare and needing gen detting for confirmation.  Well I get loads here - nearly as many as Red - and I have been confirming them. They've been quite straightforward really - if they've had blackish bars (and typically been a bit on the small side) they've proved to be Dark-barred and if they have red bars (and typically larger) they've turned out to be Red regardless of indents.  One very worn example of a confirmed Dark-barred had seemed bigger and looked like it had probably been a bit reddish when fresh, but by and large they've turned out pretty much as expected.

Red-barred Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets are said to be rare among Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets.  So when I found 3 Carpets in Wednesday's catch and 2 hard black bars and one red I thought I'd got both species.  But turns out they were 3 Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets, all males.

dark-barred and red-barred Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets (males, gen det), North Elmham, 18th May

Another Small Phoenix was nice, quite a different-looking beast from the last one.

Small Phoenix, North Elmham, 18th May

New for the year were Currant Pug, Poplar Hawkmoth, Pale Prominent and Rustic Shoulder-knot.

Currant Pug, North Elmham, 18th May

Pale Prominent, North Elmham, 18th May

Poplar Hawkmoth, North Elmham, 18th May

Rustic Shoulder-knot, North Elmham, 18th May

The rest of the moths were Common Pug, Brindled Pug, Scalloped Hazel, Coxcomb Prominent, Chocolate-tip, Cinnabar, Clouded Drab and 3 Hebrew Characters.

One caddisfly proved to be a new species for me, Hydropsyche pellucidula.  Others included  Glyphotaelius pellucidus, 4 Limnephilus auriculas and Limnephilus sparsus.

Hydropsyche pellucidula, North Elmham, 18th May

Square-spotted Clay & Dark Spectacle

New for the year on 11th August were Square-spotted Clay and Dark Spectacle:

Square-spotted Clay, North Elmham, 11th August

Dark Spectacle, North Elmham, 11th August

The other macros were Pebble Hook-tip, 2 Blood-veins, Least Carpet, 7 Single-dotted Waves, 14 Riband Waves, 2 Red Twin-spot Carpets, 2 Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets, Shaded Broad-bar, 4 Common Carpets, Lime-speck Pug, 2 Tawny Speckled Pugs, Yellow-barred Brindle, 2 Clouded Borders, Scorched Carpet, 2 Canary-shouldered Thorns, Early Thorn, Peppered Moth, 11 Willow Beauties, Poplar Hawkmoth, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Swallow Prominent, Pale Prominent, Yellow-tail, Rosy Footman, Dingy Footman, Scarce Footman, Buff Footman, 5 Common Footmen, 6 Ruby Tigers, 3 Shuttle-shaped Darts, Flame Shoulder, 3 Large Yellow Underwings, 17 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, 4 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 2 Six-striped Rustics, Nutmeg, Lychnis, Smoky Wainscot, 2 Straw Underwings, 2 Dun-bars, 3 Dark Arches, Common Rustic, Dusky Sallow, 2 Flounced Rustics, 2 Uncertains and Straw Dot.

Poplar Hawkmoth, North Elmham, 11th August

There was a fair selection of micros to work through too: 4 Bird-cherry Ermines Yponomeuta evonymella, Small Clover Case-bearer Coleophora alcyonipennella, Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Long-horned Flat-body Carcina quercana, Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis, Cinereous Groundling Bryotropha terrella, 2 Orange Crests Helcystogramma rufescens, Maple Button Acleris forsskaleana, 3 Garden Rose Tortrices Acleris variegana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, Holly Tortrix Rhopobota naevana, Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, Two-coloured Bell Eucosma obumbratana, 2 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Pale-streak Grass-veneer Agriphila selasella, 15 Pearl Veneers Agriphila straminella, 51 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 2 Pearl Grass-veneers Catoptria pinella, 2 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, Ringed China-mark Parapoynx stratiotata, 4 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, Chequered Straw Evergestis pallidata, Pale Straw Pearl Udea lutealis, Dusky Pearl Udea prunalis, 16 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, Gold Triangle Hypsopygia costalis, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, 3 Grey Knot-horns Acrobasis advenella, Ash-bark Knot-horn Euzophera pinguis and Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla.

Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, North Elmham, 11th August

Dark Sword-grass

On Friday night Dave and I set up at Beetley Common, a site close to home that we thought had good potential.  We had a reasonable variety of moths coming to light but I found the best moth as I walked back to the car to get something.  A large moth flew across the path in front of me and duly arrived in my net where I recognised it as a Dark Sword-grass.  I don't see this migrant species very often and it was Dave's first ever.  Not the prettiest moth perhaps but distinctive and interesting for being my first migrant moth of the year.

 Dark Sword-grass, Beetley Common, 15th May

By far the most numerous insect (with the possible exception of tiny flies that we didn't identify) was Cockchafer.  These were becoming quite a nuisance so we potted them up to keep them at bay until we left - around 30 in total.

The other moths were 2 Common Oak Purples Dyseriocrania subpurpurella, Large Long-horn Nematopogon swammerdamella, Birch Ermel Swammerdamia caesiella, Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Yarrow Conch Aethes smeathmanniana, Dark-barred Tortrix Syndemis musculana, Scalloped Hook-tip, Red Twin-spot Carpet, 3 Green Carpets, 4 Brindled Pugs, Brown Silver-line, 3 Brimstone Moths, 2 Waved Umbers, 2 White-pinion Spotteds, Pale Prominent, 2 Pale Tussocks, 3 Orange Footmen, 3 Least Black Arches, Bright-line Brown-eye, Hebrew Character, Treble Lines and 2 Nut-tree Tussocks.

Large Long-horn Nematopogon swammerdamella, Beetley Common, 15th May

Yarrow Conch Aethes smeathmanniana, Beetley Common, 15th May

Dark-barred Tortrix Syndemis musculana, Beetley Common, 15th May

Orange Footman, Beetley Common, 15th May

Green Carpet, Beetley Common, 15th May

White-pinion Spotted, Beetley Common, 15th May

Birch Ermel Swammerdamia caesiella, Beetley Common, 15th May

 
Not 100% sure about the identity of this bug, but I think it may be Thamnotettix dilutior.

possible Thamnotettix dilutior, Beetley Common, 15th May

 
This is one Mayfly - genus Caenis but apparently you need to dissect them to get a species ID.

Caenis sp., Beetley Common, 15th May

 
Earlier in the evening I'd popped to the patch where at Hell Pit I found a Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella on the car and netted a Chinese Character.

Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella (male, gen det), Hell Pit, Bittering, 15th May

 
At home Green Carpet, 2 Scalloped Hazels, Buff-tip, Treble Lines and Pale Mottled Willow were all new for the year, at least for the house.

Pale Mottled Willow, Norh Elmham, 15th May

Treble Lines, Norh Elmham, 15th May

 
Others were Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Flame Carpet, Red Twin-spot Carpet, 2 Poplar Hawkmoths, Swallow Prominent, Pale Prominent, Least Black Arches, Flame Shoulder, Lychnis, 2 Hebrew Characters and Spectacle.

Pale Prominent, Norh Elmham, 15th May

Poplar Hawkmoth, Norh Elmham, 15th May

 
Anyone out there any good on caddisflies?  This one was huge but I can't find the species.

unidentified Caddisfly, Norh Elmham, 15th May

Four Prominents and a Hawkmoth

Monday night produced 20 species (19 macros) including 7 new for the year: Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, Oak-tree Pug, Brimstone Moth, Poplar Hawkmoth, Pale Prominent, Great Prominent and Lychnis.

Poplar Hawkmoth, North Elmham, 11th May

Pale Prominent, North Elmham, 11th May

Great Prominent, North Elmham, 11th May

Lychnis, North Elmham, 11th May

Brimstone Moth, North Elmham, 11th May

Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, North Elmham, 11th May

Oak-tree Pug (female, gen det), North Elmham, 11th May

 
The rest of the catch were Chinese Character, Common Pug, Brindled Beauty, Pebble Prominent, Swallow Prominent, 2 Pale Tussocks, Muslin Moth, 2 Shuttle-shaped Darts, Powdered Quaker, Clouded Drab, 3 Hebrew Characters, Early Grey and Nut-tree Tussock.

Pebble Prominent, North Elmham, 11th May

Common Pug, North Elmham, 11th May