Review of 2019 and 2020 - Caddisflies: Goeridae, Lepidostomidae and part 1 of Limnephilidae

Family GOERIDAE


Medium Sedge Goera pilosa - A total of 8 in the garden trap between 23rd June and 30th July 2019 and 11 between 17th June and 8th August 2020; also one at the meadows on 22nd August 2019.

male Medium Sedge Goera pilosa, North Elmham, 23rd June 2019

female Medium Sedges Goera pilosa, North Elmham, 10th July 2019

female Medium Sedge Goera pilosa, North Elmham, 24th July 2019

female Medium Sedge Goera pilosa, North Elmham, 17th June 2020

female Medium Sedge Goera pilosa, North Elmham, 20th June 2020

Silo nigricornis - None.  There are loads of records of this species in Norfolk so it is perhaps surprising that I haven't come across it yet.

Silo pallipes - Female in the garden trap on 10th July 2019 and 25th June 2020.  I'd caught this species twice before, both in 2017.

female Silo pallipes, North Elmham, 10th July 2019

female Silo pallipes, North Elmham, 25th June 2020

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Family LEPIDOSTOMATIDAE


Crunoecia irrorata - Singles caught in the garden on 21st July and 25th August 2019 and 18th and 31st July 2020.  Also a male netted between Carsaig and Rubha Dubh on Mull on 10th June 2019.

male Crunoecia irrorata, between Carsaig and Rubha Dubh (Mull), 10th June 2019

male Crunoecia irrorata, North Elmham, 21st July 2019

female Crunoecia irrorata, North Elmham, 25th August 2019

male Crunoecia irrorata, North Elmham, 18th July 2020 - showing distinctive genital capsule

female Crunoecia irrorata, North Elmham, 31st July 2020

Small Silver Sedge Lepidostoma hirtum - 3 caught in the garden on consecutive nights 27th to 29th August 2019 and 6 between 14th August and 8th September; elsewhere one at Swanton Great Wood on 27th August 2019 and 2 at the meadows on 8th September 2020.  All 12 were females and I didn't alwasys find it easy to eliminate Lepidostoma basale (although as far as I know that species doesn't occur in East Anglia).  The Barnard and Ross Handbook points to a single feature on its diagrams of the genitalia, the shape of the subgenital plate, and on at least a few individuals (especially the first one in 2020) this looked better for basale.  But there are other differences in the diagrams, although when they're not arrowed or drawn attention to in the text I'm never sure if these are differences between the species or just differences between the specimens used as a basis for the diagram.  Anyway, hirtum is illustrated with wide shoulders (not a technical term!) before the tip of the abdomen, and all mine shared this characteristic - the basale diagram in the Handbook shows much less of a step.  When I first encountered this problem I found a photo of hirtum genitalia online that looked similar (I can't find it now - maybe it was on the defunct website but I thought it was more recent than that), so given basale is so unlikely here I think it's safe to call them all hirtum.  Photos of the genitalia of the most troublesome individual are below, along with a more straightforward one.  Please let me know if you disagree.

female Small Silver Sedge Lepidostoma hirtum, Swanton Great Wood, 27th August 2019

female Small Silver Sedge Lepidostoma hirtum, North Elmham, 28th August 2019

female Small Silver Sedge Lepidostoma hirtum, North Elmham, 29th August 2019

presumed female Small Silver Sedge Lepidostoma hirtum, North Elmham, 14th August 2020 - showing what looks like a very flat rounded tip to the subgenital plate (as on L basale); this happened to be the first time I've found the corpus bursae on a caddisfly - the ductus bursae is very thin and delicate so I assume this normally breaks and gets lost during the preparation (as far as I know this isn't helpful for identification but was of interest to me

female Small Silver Sedge Lepidostoma hirtum, North Elmham, 24th August 2020 - this one shows a subgenital plate with a longer more narrowly rounded tip as I would expect on L hirtum

female Small Silver Sedge Lepidostoma hirtum, North Elmham, 30th August 2020

female Small Silver Sedge Lepidostoma hirtum, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 8th September 2020

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Family APATANIIDAE


Apatania muliebris - None.  Judging from the NBN Atlas maps this species occurs in the Wensum Valley but I've not come across it here or anywhere else yet.

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Family LIMNEPHILIDAE


Drusus annulatus - None.  The NBN Atlas maps indicate that this species has occurred nearby but I haven't found it yet.


Brown Sedge Anabolia nervosa - One caught in the garden on 22nd October 2019 and 4 between 21th and 21st October (I had caught 8 here in 2018).  Elsewhere 2 caught at the meadows on 12th October and 4 there on 1st November 2019 and 2 at Stiffkey on 16th October 2020.  The other member of this genus, Anabolia brevipennis, occurs in Norfolk but there are no records on the NBN Atlas for the Wensum Valley area.

male Brown Sedge Anabolia nervosa, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th October 2019

male Brown Sedge Anabolia nervosa, North Elmham, 21st October 2019

male Brown Sedge Anabolia nervosa, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 1st November 2019

Brown Sedge Anabolia nervosa, North Elmham, 12th October 2020<

Brown Sedge Anabolia nervosa, Stiffkey, 16th October 2020

Mottled Sedge Glyphotaelius pellucidus - A total of 56 between 1st May 31st October 2019 and 39 between 8th May and 29th October 2020.  A total of 22 at the meadows on 7 dates including 15 on 25th May 2020 and elsewhere singles at Swanton Great Wood, Row Heath (West Runton), Whitwell Street and Tresidder (in Cornwall).  My records of this species show two clear peaks, one from May to early June and one from late July to October (especially late August to late September) but I've had a few odd records throughout the diapause in June-July.

Mottled Sedge Glyphotaelius pellucidus, North Elmham, 1st May 2019

Mottled Sedge Glyphotaelius pellucidus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 25th May 2019

Mottled Sedge Glyphotaelius pellucidus, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th May 2020

Grammotaulius nigropunctatus - Singles caught in the garden trap on 12th September 2019 and 11th and 23rd April 2020 (I'd had 3-4 in each of the previous 3 years).  Also one at Hills and Holes on 21st May 2020.  There are no records of the much scarcer Grammotaulius nitidus showing in the NBN Atlas for the Wensum Valley although it does occur in the Broads and has been recorded in the Norwich area.

male Grammotaulius nigropunctatus, North Elmham, 12th September 2019

male Grammotaulius nigropunctatus, Hills and Holes, 21st May 2020

Next page: more Limnephilidae

Or return to Caddisfly index

Silo pallipes - a new caddisfly

The highlight on the night of 25th May was a Small Clouded Brindle.  I could have sworn I'd seen these here before but it turns out I hadn't - indeed I'd only seen one before anywhere.

Small Clouded Brindle, North Elmham, 25th May

Four other species were new for the year: 7 Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella, 2 Triple-blotched Bells Notocelia trimaculana, Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, and Pale Oak Beauty.

Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 25th May

Triple-blotched Bell Notocelia trimaculana, North Elmham, 25th May

Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, North Elmham, 25th May

Pale Oak Beauty, North Elmham, 25th May

Other moths that night were Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Common Cosmet Mompha epilobiella, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, Yellow-faced Bell Notocelia cynosbatella, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, 4 Common Swifts, Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet, Silver-ground Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, 2 Green Carpets, 3 Common Pugs, Clouded Border, 2 Brimstone Moths, White-pinion Spotted, Light Emerald, Eyed Hawk-moth, 2 White Ermines, 3 Cinnabars, Bright-line Brown-eye, Brown Rustic, Marbled Minor, 9 Treble Lines and Spectacle. Also Common Earwig and Cockchafer.

Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (female, gen det), North Elmham, 25th May

Next day there were Azure, Common Blue and Large Red Damseflies at Ryburgh where moths included Yellow-barred Long-horn Nemophora degeerella, Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana and Green Carpet.

Yellow-barred Long-horn Nemophora degeerella, Ryburgh, 26th May

Common Blue Damselfly, Ryburgh, 26th May

Following on from the 7 on 25th I trapped 13 Buff Rush Case-bearers Coleophora caespititiella on 26th - easily a record count, though that would be beaten a couple of nights later.

New species for the year were Bird's-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, 3 Hook-streaked Grass-Veneers Crambus lathoniellus, Fenland Pearl Anania perlucidalis, Blood-vein, May Highflyer, Brown Silver-line, Buff-tip, Rustic Shoulder-knot and 2 Straw Dots.

Bird's-nest Moth Tinea trinotella, North Elmham, 26th May

Hook-streaked Grass-veneer Crambus lathoniellus, North Elmham, 26th May

Fenland Pearl Anania perlucidalis, North Elmham, 26th May

Blood-vein, North Elmham, 26th May

May Highflyer, North Elmham, 26th May

Brown Silver-line, North Elmham, 26th May

Buff-tip, North Elmham, 26th May

Rustic Shoulder-knot, North Elmham, 26th May

Other moths that night were Yellow-triangle Slender Caloptilia alchimiella, Dark-barred Tortrix Syndemis musculana, 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 2 Plum Tortrixes Hedya pruniana, 2 Rush Marbles Bactra lancealana, 2 Yellow-faced Bells Notocelia cynosbatella, Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, Meadow Grey Scoparia pyralella, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 2 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, 4 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, False Cacao Moth Ephestia unicolorella, Common Swift, Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet, 3 Silver-ground Carpets, 2 Common Marbled Carpets, 2 Green Carpets, Sandy Carpet, Mottled Pug, 14 Common Pugs, Clouded Border, Brimstone Moth, 2 Waved Umbers, Pale Oak Beauty, White-pinion Spotted, 2 Light Emeralds, Pale Tussock, 2 Orange Footmen, 4 White Ermines, Buff Ermine, 5 Cinnabars, Least Black Arches, Heart and Dart, Shuttle-shaped Dart, 2 Brown Rustics, Clouded-bordered Brindle, 13 Treble Lines and Spectacle.

Least Black Arches, North Elmham, 26th May

The only beetle was a Cockchafer but two caddisflies included a new one for me, Silo pallipes (also Glyphotaelius pellucidus).

Silo pallipes (male), North Elmham, 26th May