Eucosma campoliliana

A rather attractive but unfamiliar moth appeared in my trap on the night of 12th June - my first Marbled Bell Eucosma campoliliana.

Marbled Bell Eucosma campoliliana, North Elmham, 12th June

Three macros that were new for the year here were all lookers too: Small Elephant Hawkmoth, Poplar Kitten and Beautiful Golden Y.  Not quite so pretty was the Cream Wave, new for the house.

Poplar Kitten, North Elmham, 12th June

Small Elephant Hawkmoth, North Elmham, 12th June

Beautiful Golden Y, North Elmham, 12th June

Cream Wave, North Elmham, 12th June

Numbers of Diamond-backs had dropped right off but there was another surge this night: I caught 124 Diamond-back Moths Plutella xylostella, comparable numbers to what I trapped around the peak around 31st May/1st June.

A good selection of other moths: Garden Cosmet Mompha subbistrigella, Hook-marked Straw Moth Agapeta hamana, 2 Light Brown Apple Moths Epiphyas postvittana, 2 Yellow-spot Tortrices Pseudargyrotoza conwagana, Barred Marble Celypha striana, 2 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, Yellow-faced Bell Notocelia cynosbatella, Many-plumed Moth Alucita hexadactyla, 4 Hook-streaked Grass-Veneers Crambus lathoniellus, 3 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, 2 Bee Moths Aphomia sociella, 5 Common Swifts, 3 Blood-veins, 3 Silver-ground Carpets, Common Carpet, Purple Bar, 2 Green Carpets, Foxglove Pug, Common Pug, Clouded Border, Brown Silver-line, Common White Wave, 2 Light Emeralds, Poplar Hawkmoth, Swallow Prominent, Common Footman, 5 White Ermines, Cinnabar, 2 Heart and Darts, Shears, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, Rustic Shoulder-knot, 3 Brown Rustics, 4 Middle-barred Minors, 14 Treble Lines, Mottled Rustic, 2 Burnished Brasses, Spectacle and 4 Straw Dots.

I'm finding Mayfly identification a bit of a struggle even armed with the guide - so many don't show all the features given while other probably better features (like wing venation) aren't clearly enough described in the key to be of any use (for example how much of the wing is the "tip" when counting cross-veins?).  The relative length of foot segments should help differentiate Procloeon from various Cloeon species but I find this hard to judge on some individuals.  I think that at least one of 2 Mayflies recorded this night was Pale Evening Dun Procloeon bifidum but the other I had to leave unidentified.

Pale Evening Dun Procloeon bifidum, North Elmham, 12th June

In contrast I find the guide to caddisflies excellent and very helpfully designed with features described and illustrated.  Some are still difficult though, and the genitalia don't always appear exactly as in the diagrams.  Nevertheless I am fairly happy with 2 new caddisflies identified from the trap: Rhyacophila dorsalis and Polycentropus flavomaculatus. There were also 3 Hydropsyche pellucidula, 4 Limnephilus auricula, Limnephilus flavicornis and 2 Limnephilus lunatus.

Polycentropus flavonmaculatus, North Elmham, 12th June

Rhyacophila dorsalis, North Elmham, 12th June

Nationally Scarce A in the garden

When I got back from Hilgay Fen it was nearly time to go through my moth trap at home.  This contained an excellent moth, the "Nationally Scarce A" Eastern Case-bearer Coleophora vestianella.  In Norfolk the first record was in the Brecks in 1933 and it wasn't recorded again until 2012 since when there have been 5 records in west Norfolk.  Not yet recorded in VC27 (east Norfolk), the border of which is very close to here.

Eastern Case-bearer Coleophora vestianella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 4th July

New for the year here were 2 Woundwort Case-bearers Coleophora lineolea, White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella, Shaded Broad-bar and 3 Short-cloaked Moths.

Woundwort Case-bearer Coleophora lineolea (male, gen det), North Elmham, 4th July

White-foot Bell Epiblema foenella, North Elmham, 4th July

Shaded Broad-bar, North Elmham, 4th July

Short-cloaked Moth, North Elmham, 4th July

The other macros were Common Emerald, Small Blood-vein, Small Fan-footed Wave, 4 Dwarf Cream Waves, 5 Single-dotted Waves, 2 Treble Brown Spots, 23 Riband Waves, Yellow Shell, 7 Barred Straws, 2 Barred Yellows, 2 Sandy Carpets, 3 Common Pugs, Scorched Wing, Brimstone Moth, 4 Willow Beauties, Mottled Beauty, 2 Common White Waves, Common Wave, 2 Clouded Silvers, Elephant Hawkmoth, Small Elephant Hawkmoth, Marbled Brown, 5 Buff-tips, 4 Rosy Footmen, 6 Common Footmen, 19 Buff Ermines, 2 Cinnabars, 2 Heart and Clubs, 5 Heart and Darts, 3 Flames, 2 Flame Shoulders, 3 Large Yellow Underwings, 13 Double Square-spots, Dot Moth, 2 Lychnis, 2 Brown-line Bright-eyes, Clay, Common Wainscot, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, 6 Brown Rustics, 2 Dark Arches, 2 Middle-barred Minors, Treble Lines, 20 Uncertains, Rustic, 5 Mottled Rustics, 6 Burnished Brasses, Spectacle, 8 Beautiful Hook-tips, 6 Straw Dots, 3 Snouts and 4 Fan-foots.

Single-dotted Wave, North Elmham, 4th July - a strongly-marked example

Small Elephant Hawkmoth, North Elmham, 4th July

Among the micros another Powdered Knot-horn Delplanqueia dilutella was notable:

Powdered Knot-horn Delplanqueia dilutella, North Elmham, 4th July

The rest were Barred White Clothes Moth Nemapogon clematella, Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella, 2 Meadow Case-bearers Coleophora mayrella, Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Dark Groundling Bryotropha affinis, 3 Cinereous Groundlings Bryotropha terrella, 2 Hook-marked Straw Moths Agapeta hamana, Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis cerasana, 2 Large Fruit-tree Tortrices Archips podana, 2 Privet Tortrices Clepsis consimilana, 5 Large Ivy Tortrices Lozotaenia forsterana, 2 Red-barred Tortrices Ditula angustiorana, Flax Tortrix Cnephasia asseclana, 7 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 7 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 4 Marbled Orchard Tortrices Hedya nubiferana, Triangle-marked Roller Ancylis achatana, Common Cloaked Shoot Gypsonoma dealbana, 2 Triple-blotched Bells Notocelia trimaculana, Hoary Bell Eucosma cana, 35 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Grass-veneers Crambus pascuella, Yellow Satin Veneer Crambus perlella, Chequered Grass-veneer Catoptria falsella, 9 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 3 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, Small Grey Eudonia mercurella, 8 Small Magpies Eurrhypara hortulata, 2 Elder Pearls Anania coronata, Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis, 3 Bee Moths Aphomia sociella, White Plume Pterophorus pentadactyla and 2 Common Plumes Emmelina monodactyla.

Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, North Elmham, 4th July

Wet night reaps rewards

Friday night before last (12th June) was a wet one.  I should have left my trap in the open-fronted woodstore but I didn't expect quite so much rain so had it on a sheet in the middle of the garden as usual.  Come the morning the trap was still going strong but things were a bit damp.  Any moths foolish enough to land on the sheet were swimming on it.  I carefully rescued as many as I could in order to preserve them enough to be able to identify them at least, and it was clear that a good variety of smaller moths were involved.  Among those that could only be identified once they'd dried out were Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana, Variegated Golden Tortrix Archips xylosteana, 2 Twin-barred Knot-horns Homoeosoma sinuella, Purple Bar and 5 Clouded Silvers, all new for the year and mostly in a pretty shocking state of repair.

 Twin-barred Knot-horns Homoeosoma nebulella, North Elmham, 12th June

Inside the trap things were a bit drier, at least for the most part (quite a bit of water had dripped in but most of the eggboxes were dry).  Perhaps the highlight and good to see in the garden were 2 Small Elephant Hawkmoths.

 Small Elephant Hawkmoth, North Elmham, 12th June

Also new for the year, at least for the garden, were Cork Moth Nemapogon cloacella, Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana, Cyclamen Tortrix Clepsis spectrana, Large Ivy Tortrix Lozotaenia forsterana, 4 Rush Marbles Bactra lancealana, Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, Fenland Pearl Anania perlucidalis, Broken-barred Carpet, Lime-speck Pug, Green Pug, Scorched Wing, 2 Pale Oak Beauties and Common Wave.

Fenland Pearl Anania perlucidalis, North Elmham, 12th June

Cyclamen Tortrix Clepsis spectrana, North Elmham, 12th June

Large Ivy Tortrix Lozotaenia forsterana, North Elmham, 12th June

Rush Marble Bactra lancealana, North Elmham, 12th June

Red Piercer Lathronympha strigana, North Elmham, 12th June

Lime-speck Pug, North Elmham, 12th June

Green Pug, North Elmham, 12th June

Scorched Wing, North Elmham, 12th June

Pale Oak Beauty, North Elmham, 12th June

The rest were Buff Rush Case-bearer Coleophora caespititiella (gen det), 4 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, 2 Yellow-faced Bells Notocelia cynosbatella, Hook-streaked Grass-Veneer Crambus lathoniellus, 2 Small Magpies Eurrhypara hortulata, 3 Bee Moths Aphomia sociella, 4 Common Swifts, Pebble Hook-tip, Chinese Character, Flame Carpet, Silver-ground Carpet, Garden Carpet, 2 Common Marbled Carpets, 4 Green Carpets, 2 Mottled Pugs, 5 Common Pugs, 2 Grey Pugs, Clouded Border, Brimstone Moth, Scalloped Hazel, Common White Wave, 3 Light Emeralds, 2 Marbled Browns, Buff-tip, 2 Pale Tussocks, 2 Orange Footmen, 2 Common Footmen, 2 White Ermines, 2 Cinnabars, 6 Heart and Darts, 4 Small Square-spots, 2 Common Wainscots, 2 Shoulder-striped Wainscots, Rustic Shoulder-knot, 4 Brown Rustics, Clouded-bordered Brindle, Marbled Minor (gen det), 2 Middle-barred Minors, 11 Treble Lines, Spectacle and 7 Straw Dots. 

Clouded-bordered Brindle, North Elmham, 12th June

Found this spider in the house next day - any idea what species it is?

unidentified spider, North Elmham, 13th June