Review of 2019 and 2020 - Moths: Noctuids (Noctuidae) part 15: Other Clays and Rustics

NOCTUIDS (NOCTUIDAE) (continued)


Dotted Clay Xestia baja - None.  I've not recorded this species locally but it has been found nearby so hopefully I'll catch one here someday.


Square-spotted Clay Xestia stigmatica - Totals of 10 in the garden between 4th August and 1st September 2019 and 6 between 2nd August and 9th September 2020, the last being my latest ever.  I had 21 in 2015 and have averaged 11 a year - 2020's paltry 6 was my lowest annual total.  Elsewhere one next door and 3 at the meadows.

Square-spotted Clay, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 22nd August 2019

Square-spotted Clay, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th August 2020

Heath Rustic Xestia agathina - One at Row Heath (West Runton) on 31st August 2019 was my first ever, making what would otherwise have been a pretty disappointing field trip seem worthwhile.  Now I just need to find one locally...  None in 2020.

Heath Rustic, Row Heath (West Runton), 31st August 2019

Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa - Totals of 159 caught here between 17th August and 26th September 2019 and 177 between 4th August and 22nd September 2020, more than my average of 128 a year.  A count of 18 on 28th August 2019 was my highest ever here.  Elsewhere 59 at the meadows, mostly over 3 nights, 25 at Whitwell Street, 8 at Swanton Great Wood, one at Row Heath (West Runton) and 57 in Cornwall.  One at Weybourne on 5th July was far and away my earliest ever (my first July record).

Square-spot Rustic, Weybourne, 5th July 2019

Square-spot Rustic, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd September 2019 - doing its best to look like a Heath Rustic

Square-spot Rustic, North Elmham, 29th August 2020

Six-striped Rustic Xestia sexstrigata - Totals of 24 here between 10th and 29th August 2019 and 17 between 6th and 24th August 2020.  I average 31 a year here.  Elsewhere one next door.


Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum - Totals of 19 caught in the garden between 20th May and 7th July 2019, at least 178 between 31st July and 10th October 2019, 16 between 18th May and 13th June 2020 and 190 between 31st July and 2nd October 2020.  Since 2015 numbers have varied between 152 and the 206 in 2020 with 8% in the late spring generation and the other 92% in the autumn generation.  Elsewhere recorded next door on all 4 nights, 39 at the meadows over 15 nights (including a later one on 1st November 2019), 4 at Whitwell Street, 3 at Swanton Great Wood, one at Weybourne, 3 at Row Heath (West Runton) and 22 in Cornwall.

Setaceous Hebrew Character, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th September 2019

Triple-spotted Clay Xestia ditrapezium - None.  Disregarding some of my early records when I was misinterpreting a slightly misleading description in the books I have never recorded this species in Norfolk.  Taken at face value, the spread and quantity of records in Norfolk suggest that I ought to be finding this species here regularly enough.  However several highly experienced and long-term moth recorders I know haven't found it in the county either, so I suspect that a lot of the records are misidentified.  It's plausible that I have overlooked the odd one - I'm not confident I would pick one out from its forewing features - but I do check the majority of Double Square-spots pretty carefully including getting at least a glimpse of the hindwing in most cases.


Double Square-spot Xestia triangulum - At least 150 in the garden between 23rd June and 26th July 2019 but probably a few more as I didn't count them on the last couple of nights (the peak count, a record 31, was only 2 nights before that, 23rd July).  In any case, well above the average of 120.  In contrast, 2020 was my worst year here so far with just 59 between 13th June and 31st July.  Elsewhere 5 over 3 nights at the meadows and 7 at Weybourne.

Double Square-spot, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 23rd June 2020

Autumnal Rustic Eugnorisma glareosa - 10 at Tresidder in Cornwall between 7th and 9th October 2020.  I've seen lots of these in Cornwall but still haven't managed to find one in Norfolk.  They're not especially rare here so I should get my first county record before too long and maybe even a local one.

Autumnal Rustic, Tresidder (Cornwall), 9th October 2020

Gothic Naenia typica - None.  I've only ever caught 2 of these, one here in 2015 and one at my last house in Bawdeswell in 2013.


Next page: Nolidae

Two nice new moths for the garden and a rare but distinctive caddisfly

Saturday 26th May was a quieter night than the previous night but there was still plenty of interest.  Best of all was this Triple-barred Argent Argyresthia trifasciata, new for the garden and only my second ever - and a beautiful little moth.

Triple-barred Argent Argyresthia trifasciata, North Elmham, 26th May

Other moths that were new for the year were Fulvous Clothes Moth Tinea semifulvella, Hedge Case-bearer Coleophora striatipennella, Common Carpet, Flame and Marbled Minor agg., though the last of these doesn't count as it got away preventing a species-level ID.

Fulvous Clothes Moth Tinea sermifulvella, North Elmham, 26th May

Hedge Case-bearer Coleophora striatipennella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 26th May

Common Carpet, North Elmham, 26th May

Flame, North Elmham, 26th May

Other moths were Bird’s-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, Common Birch Bell Epinotia immundana, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, 2 Silver-ground Carpets, Garden Carpet, Broken-barred Carpet, Green Carpet, 6 Mottled Pugs, Currant Pug, 4 Common Pugs, 2 Brimstone Moths, 2 Pale Tussocks, 2 Orange Footmen, 5 White Ermines, Cinnabar, Flame Shoulder, 2 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, Common Wainscot and 4 Treble Lines.

Setaceous Hebrew Character, North Elmham, 26th May

There was only one caddisfly in the trap but it was a highly distinctive creature that I didn't recognise at all.  It turned out to be Limnephilus elegans, a species of raised bogs and fens that according to the RES handbook is "Local in New Forest, north Midlands, N England, Wales and Scotland."  Well I don't know about you but in view of that I wouldn't expect to find this species in a central Norfolk garden!  But there seemed to be no mistaking it and a quick check with the county recorder confirmed that there is at least one county record (at Ranworth).  But it does seem to be pretty rare anywhere in East Anglia, so probably my best caddisfly yet.

Limnephilus elegans, North Elmham, 26th May

By catch also included a couple of new species for the garden, Common Red Ant Myrmica rubra (I'm sure that wasn't really new for the garden of course, but its the first red ant here that I've looked at critically) and the beetle Bembedion lampros.  Also the mayfly Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum and a Common Wasp.

Next day this Cream Wave was on my gate, a new species for the year.

Cream Wave, North Elmham, 27th May

In the trap that night the highlight was a Large Brindled Clothes Moth Triaxomera parasitella, my second new moth for the garden in consecutive nights.

Large Brindled Clothes Moth Triaxomera parasitella, North Elmham, 27th May

Also new for the year were Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella, Blood-vein, 2 Sandy Carpets, Brown Rustic and a fully-identified Marbled Minor.

Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteucha culmella, North Elmham, 27th May

Blood-vein, North Elmham, 27th May

Sandy Carpet, North Elmham, 27th May

Brown Rustic, North Elmham, 27th May

Marbled Minor (male, gen det), North Elmham, 27th May

Other moths were Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, 2 Little Dwarfs Elachista canapennella, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, Yellow-faced Bell Notocelia cynosbatella, Hook-streak Grass-veneer Crambus lathoniellus, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, 2 Silver-ground Carpets, 2 Green Carpets, Mottled Pug, 2 Common Pugs, 2 White Ermines, 2 Heart and Darts, Shears, 2 Common Wainscots and 2 Treble Lines.

Hot on the heels of the previous day's indivual there was another Bembidion lampros.

Bembedion lampros, North Elmham, 27th May