One moth, two caddis and two bug lifers all in a night's work

This Dark-fringed Flat-body Agonopterix nervosa was one of several highlights on Thursday 17th August, a new species of moth for me.

Dark-fringed Flat-body Agonopterix nervosa (male, gen det), North Elmham, 17th August

I suspected that this peculiar-looking moth would turn out to be a Common Carpet despite it looking very different from the normal appearance of this species, and so it was - but I have never seen one looking anything like this before - has anyone else?  The dark band across the middle is very much narrower than normal and the outer darkish band is much broader than normal filling up the space.

Common Carpet (male, gen det), North Elmham, 17th August

This Six-striped Rustic was new for the year.

Six-striped Rustic, North Elmham, 17th August

The other moths were Brown Birch Slender Parornix betulae, Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella, Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis heparana, Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana, Dover Shade Cnephasia genitalana, Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana, Common Marble Celypha lacunana, Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Pearl Veneers Agriphila straminella, 17 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea, Ringed China-mark Parapoynx stratiotata, 3 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, 2 Pale Straw Pearls Udea lutealis, 3 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, 2 Grey Knot-horns Acrobasis advenella, Beautiful Plume Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla, Orange Swift, Maiden's Blush, Single-dotted Wave, Garden Carpet, another normal Common Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, Currant Pug, 2 Brimstone Moths, 3 Willow Beauties, 3 Pale Prominents, 9 Flame Shoulders, 5 Large Yellow Underwings, 2 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, 8 Setaceous Hebrew Characters, Bright-line Brown-eye, Common Wainscot, Straw Underwing, Flounced Rustic and 4 Straw Dots.

As if a new moth wasn't good enough there were also a few other insect lifers.   There were 8 caddisflies and all 8 were different species.  I've not been doing caddisflies for long but even so it already seems quite unusual to get a new species at home, so this haul was remarkable - two lifers Limnephilus hirsutus and Micropterna sequax and one new for the house Holocentropus picicornis.

Limnephilus hirsutus (female), North Elmham, 17th August

Micropterna sequax (male), North Elmham, 17th August

I'd had my first picicornis just 3 days earlier at Potter Heigham - if you read my diary entry for that excursion you may recall reading about it being the unspotted form rather than the usual spotted one - this time it was the typical form and very striking it was too.

Holocentropus picicornis (male), North Elmham, 17th August

The other 5 caddisflies were Hydropsyche pellucidula, Agrypnia pagetana, Crunoecia irrorata, Mottled Sedge Glyphotaelius pellucidus and Limnephilus lunatus.  Other insects included 5 species of bug including two lifers, the mirid bug Neolygus contaminatus and the water boatman Sigara dorsalis.  Now strictly speaking the Water Boatman could have been Sigara striata (there is a subtle difference in the genitalia but I couldn't resolve this one) but my understanding is that dorsalis is very common in Norfolk whereas striata is, or at least was, very much rarer.  Other bugs were 2 Forest Bugs and the leafhoppers Oncopsis subangulata and Empoasca vitis.

Neolygus contaminatus, North Elmham, 17th August

presumed Sigara dorsalis (male), North Elmham, 17th August

Oncopsis subangulata, North Elmham, 17th August

The rest of the insects I recorded were 5 Pond Olives Cloeon dipterum (mayflies), 2 Chrysoperla carnea (female agg. and male carnea) (green lacewings), Rhantus suturalis (water beetle) and Aphodius rufipes (dung beetle).  Also 2 Common Frogs watching proceedings, one from the lid of the trap.

A visit to Ryburgh the next day produced a Mouse Moth and a Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana. That night at home there were far fewer insects.  Square-spot Rustic was new for the year.

Square-spot Rustic, North Elmham, 18th August

The other moths were Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, Dark-triangle Button Acleris laterana, 2 Garden Rose Tortrixes Acleris variegana, Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana, 5 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, Single-dotted Wave, 2 Brimstone Moths, Poplar Hawk-moth, Pale Prominent, 2 Flame Shoulders, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Setaceous Hebrew Character, 3 Six-striped Rustics, 2 Common Wainscots, Burnished Brass and Snout.

There weren't many other insects either but two beetles were both new for the house: Eyed Ladybird and Cortinicara gibbosa (I wouldn't have identified the gibbosa in previous years but I think the ladybird was genuinely a good record here).

Eyed Ladybird, North Elmham, 18th August

Cortinicara gibbosa, North Elmham, 18th August

Smooth Newt, Haworth's Pug, my first Leucospilapteryx and a return to Claxton Manor

The biggest surprise when I went down to check the moths on 5th August was a Smooth Newt on the sheet.  I've had a few fleeting glimpses of newts over the years but it's been a long time since I have had the opportunity to have a really good look at one.

Smooth Newt, North Elmham, 5th August

A new moth for me was Mugwort Slender Leucospilapteryx omisella.  (Note this page was edited in 2020 when I caught another and realised its correct identity - back in 2016 when this page was first published, it went down erroneously as Brown Oak Slender Acrocercops brongniardella.)

Mugwort Slender Leucospilapteryx omissella, North Elmham, 5th August

Other micros were Carrion Moth Monopis weaverella, 2 Ribwort Slenders Aspilapteryx tringipennella, 4 Bird-cherry Ermines Yponomeuta evonymella, 2 Orchard/Apple/Spindle Ermines Yponomeuta padella/malinellus/cagnagella, 4 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Woundwort Case-bearer Coleophora lineolea, Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, 3 Long-horned Flat-bodies Carcina quercana, 2 Dark Groundlings Bryotropha affinis, House Groundling Bryotropha domestica, 2 Orange Crests Helcystogramma rufescens, 11 Dark Fruit-tree Tortrixes Pandemis heparana, Dover Shade Cnephasia genitalana, 2 Maple Buttons Acleris forsskaleana, Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, Holly Tortrix Rhopobota naevana, 3 Marbled Piercers Cydia splendana, Many-plumed Moth Alucita hexadactyla, 32 Pearl Veneers Agriphila straminella, 14 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, 2 Water Veneers Acentria ephemerella, Small Grey Eudonia mercurella, 3 Ringed China-marks Parapoynx stratiotata, 3 Beautiful China-marks Nymphula nitidulata, 3 Garden Pebbles Evergestis forficalis, Small Magpie Anania hortulata, 4 Pale Straw Pearls Udea lutealis, Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella, 20 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, Grey Knot-horn Acrobasis advenella and Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla.

By far the best macro was a Haworth's Pug - only my second ever and first at home.

Haworth's Pug (male, gen det), North Elmham, 5th August

Six-striped Rustic was new for the year and the other macros were Drinker, 2 Pebble Hook-tips, Least Carpet, Small Fan-footed Wave, Single-dotted Wave, 4 Riband Waves, 2 Red Twin-spot Carpets, 2 Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpets, Garden Carpet, 3 Shaded Broad-bars, 4 Common Carpets, Small Rivulet, Magpie Moth, Clouded Border, Early Thorn, Peppered Moth, Mottled Beauty, Poplar Hawkmoth, Iron Prominent, Pebble Prominent, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Coxcomb Prominent, 7 Yellow-tails, Black Arches, 5 Rosy Footmen, 11 Dingy Footmen, 4 Scarce Footmen, Buff Footman, 7 Common Footmen, 3 Ruby Tigers, Shuttle-shaped Dart, 6 Flame Shoulders, 16 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, Nutmeg, Lychnis, Poplar Grey, Dun-bar, 4 Dark Arches, Flounced Rustic, 3 Uncertains, 4 Nut-tree Tussocks, Silver Y, 11 Straw Dots, Snout and 2 Fan-foots.

Six-striped Rustic, North Elmham, 5th August

Next day I saw a Southern Hawker in the garden - the first time I've positively identified one here.

That evening I joined others for the Norfolk Moth Survey event at Claxton Manor.  We went here last year and had a very successful time but this time it was later in the season and in far from perfect weather being quite clear and cool as well as a bit breezy.  The site where I set up was particularly challenging due to the breeze and the variety of moths coming to my light was very poor.

One feature of the night was good numbers of Bactra (30+) and I couldn't help but notice the remarkable variety in types shown.  I was pretty confident some would turn out to be Mottled Marbles Bactra furfurana although others looked like typical Rush Marbles Bactra lancealana.  I retained 5, selecting examples that showed a variety of appearances but none like typical lancealana.  Afterwards Ken mentioned that he had had a similar experience where he was trapping with a range of different-looking individuals, and he too retained a couple for checking.  Ken came back with the results of his first - they were 2 Rush Marbles Bactra lancealana.  Perhaps all mine would turn out to be the much commoner lancealana after all?  Eventually I dissected mine and the first one, a male, was clearly Mottled Marble Bactra furfurana.  The other four were all females and while these looked promising for furfurana too I struggled to find really clear images of female genitalia of the various Bactra species to compare them too.  Eventually I decided to hunt out a typical-looking lancealana so I could compare them to that - fortunately the first one I found was a female and its genitalia were quite clearly different from the Claxton Manor examples.  At last I was satisfied to conclude that all 5 of the individuals I retained (and probably 10+ of the individuals seen) were Mottled Marbles Bactra furfurana.

Mottled Marbles Bactra furfurana (male top and 4 females below, gen det), Claxton Manor, 6th August

Other highlights at my sheet included Leopard Moth, Maple Prominent, Small Wainscot, Webb's Wainscot and 2 Crescents.

Leopard Moth, Claxton Manor, 6th August

Small Wainscot, Claxton Manor, 6th August

Webb's Wainscot, Claxton Manor, 6th August

Crescent, Claxton Manor, 6th August

Others included Bulrush Cosmet Limnaecia phragmitella, 2 Hook-marked Straw Moths Agapeta hamana, Smoky-barred Marble Lobesia abscisana, Bulrush Veneer Calamotropha paludella, Pale-streak Grass-veneer Agriphila selasella, Pearl Veneer Agriphila straminella, Pale Water-veneer Donacaula forficella, 4 Brown China-marks Elophila nymphaeata, 15 Small China-marks Cataclysta lemnata, 3 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, Drinker, Common Carpet, Iron Prominent, 2 Dingy Footmen, Ruby Tiger, Flame Shoulder, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Six-striped Rustic, 2 Antler Moths, Southern Wainscot, Smoky Wainscot, Common Rustic, Rosy Rustic and Straw Dot.

Bulrush Veneer Calamotropha paludella, Claxton Manor, 6th August

I managed to get along to Ben's trap briefly and added Ringed China-mark Parapoynx stratiotata, Garden Tiger and 2 Twin-spotted Wainscots to the tally, along with Common Wave along the track on the way.  I think it was after we'd packed up and we caught up with the others that I saw a Reed Dagger in someone's pot and two Coleophora which subsequently proved to be Orache Case-bearer Coleophora saxicolella (only my third) and Glasswort Case-bearer Coleophora salicorniae (a new moth for me).

Twin-spotted Wainscot, Claxton Manor, 6th August

So far I haven't worked out what this Ichneumon wasp was:

Ichneumon sp., Claxton Manor, 6th August

I always leave my home trap on when I go out on trips like this but it's not often I fair better at home than out in interesting habitat with a group of others.  On this occasion with a slightly disappointing night out at Claxton I ended up doing rather better at home with a couple of decent moths here.  But I'll leave that for my next post...

Mediocrity

A wander round Syderstone Common at lunchtime on 7th August turned up a few moths and butterflies, though nothing extraordinary.  Holly Blue was the best of the butterflies; the moths were 4 Barred Grass-veneers Agriphila inquinatella, 10 Six-spot Burnets, Common Carpet and Yellow Shell.

That night wasn't the best but two common macros were new for the year: Orange Swift and Six-striped Rustic.

Orange Swift, North Elmham, 7th August

Six-striped Rustic, North Elmham, 7th August

Most notable species recorded were Chalk Knot-horn Phycitodes maritima and Fen Wainscot.

Chalk Knot-horn Phycitodes maritima (male, gen det), North Elmham, 7th August

Fen Wainscot, North Elmham, 7th August

The rest were 2 Bird-cherry Ermines Yponomeuta evonymella, Orange Crest Helcystogramma rufescens, Dingy Dowd Blastobasis adustella, 2 Hook-marked Straw Moths Agapeta hamana, Cyclamen Tortrix Clepsis spectrana, Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, Two-coloured Bell Eucosma obumbratana, 2 Marbled Piercers Cydia splendana, Round-winged Drill Dichrorampha simpliciana, Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella, 23 Pearl Veneers Agriphila straminella, 22 Common Grass-veneers Agriphila tristella, Pearl Grass-veneer Catoptria pinella, 2 Ringed China-marks Parapoynx stratiotata, Small Magpie Eurrhypara hortulata, 3 Mother of Pearls Pleuroptya ruralis, 2 Rosy Tabbies Endotricha flammealis, Grey Knot-horn Acrobasis advenella, Pebble Hook-tip, 4 Single-dotted Waves, 9 Riband Waves, 3 Red Twin-spot Carpets, Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet, Large Twin-spot Carpet, 2 Shaded Broad-bars, Tawny Speckled Pug, Double-striped Pug, Peppered Moth, 4 Willow Beauties, Iron Prominent, 2 Pebble Prominents, Swallow Prominent, 2 Pale Prominents, Yellow-tail, Rosy Footman, 2 Dingy Footmen, 6 Scarce Footmen, 2 Common Footmen, Buff Ermine, Ruby Tiger, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Large Yellow Underwing, 2 Lesser Yellow Underwings, 10 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, 2 Nutmegs, Clay, Common Rustic, 2 Flounced Rustics, Uncertain (and an Uncertain or Rustic), 2 Nut-tree Tussocks and Snout.

Cyclamen Tortrix Clepsis spectrana, North Elmham, 7th August

Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (male, gen det), North Elmham, 7th August

Tawny Speckled Pug, North Elmham, 7th August