Schreckensteiniella festaliella (or Bramble False-feather)

On Monday 8th May this Yellow-triangle Slender Caloptilia alchimiella was new for the year.  There were also 2 Little Dwarfs Elachista canapennella, Garden Carpet, Streamer, Brindled Pug, Muslin Moth, Cinnabar and Flame Shoulder, and I'd had a Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana in the house earlier. A Common Toad in the garden was also new for the year.

Yellow-triangle Slender Caloptilia alchimiella (male, gen det), North Elmahm, 8th May

The following evening I found this Nut Leaf Blister Moth Phyllonorycter coryli on my front door.   I also found 2 Varied Carpet Beetles in the house but with a frosty night there wasn't a single moth in the moth trap the following morning - really crazy to be getting nil returns at this time of year - come on spring!

Nut Leaf Blister Moth Phyllonorycter coryli (female, gen det), North Elmahm, 9th May

On Wednesday 10th Dave and I headed down to Frost's Common to see what we could find. The highlight was a Bramble False-feather Schreckensteinia festaliella, a new species and a new family for both of us and quite a distinctive looking moth.

Bramble False-feather Schreckensteinia festaliella, Frost's Common, 10th May

Other moths were Large Long-horn Nematopogon swammerdamella, Green Long-horn Adela reaumurella, Oak Satin Lift Heliozela sericiella and 12 Horse Chestnut Leaf-miners Cameraria ohridella but it seemed quieter than expected.  Quite a few butterflies: Large White, 2 Green-veined Whites, 10 Orange-tips, 12 Brimstones, 2 Small Coppers, 4 Holly Blues, 2 Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma and 3 Speckled Woods.  Dragonflies were well represented too with perhaps 120 Large Red Damselflies, Hairy Dragonfly and Four-spotted Chaser (plus Dave saw an unspecified blue damselfly).  I'd have liked to have seen the Hairy Dragonfly better - I don't see many of these and haven't had a decent look at one for decades.

I retained two beetles for checking, both proving to be Phyllobius weevils: Phyllobius maculicornis and Phyllobius pyri.

Phyllobius pyri, Frost's Common, 10th May

Phyllobius maculicornis, Frost's Common, 10th May

We then had a quick look at Thompson Water though didn't stay long as the wind was getting up.  Long enough to see over 100 Azure Damselflies that had recently emerged.  Also more Brimstones and Orange-tips.

Azure Damselflies, Thompson Water, 10th May

Dave had to head off but I stopped at Lolly Moor on the way back, expecting it to be more sheltered.  It's a good site for Grass Rivulet and I saw at least 8 (probably a fair few more) including this mating pair.

Grass Rivulets, Lolly Moor, 10th May

It's also the site where I saw my first Meadow Long-horn Cauchas rufimitrella and I saw another one here this time.

Meadow Long-horn Cauchas rufimitrella, Lolly Moor, 10th May

Another species we recorded here last year was Knapweed Bell Epiblema cirsiana, though its a hard one to separate from its congener Thistle Bell Epiblema scutulana.  I saw at least a couple that I thought were Knapweed Bell Epiblema cirsiana and the male I retained for checking did indeed have a dark hindwing (the genitalia only confirm it was one or the other but the hindwing clinches it).  I collected another one from a slightly drier thistly part of the moor and it crossed my mind that it might be scutulana, and sure enough the hindwing was pale - it was a Thistle Bell Epiblema scutulana.  Good to know both species are present on site but it will make recording them harder!  The scutulana was paler overall and had slightly more white towards the tornus than the cirsiana which is typically the case (though probably not reliable except where there's a lot more).  The differences were subtle though perhaps a little more obvious in life than they seem in the photos.

Knapweed Bell Epiblema cirsiana (male, hindwing checked), Lolly Moor, 10th May

Thistle Bell Epiblema scutulana (male, hindwing checked), Lolly Moor, 10th May

Other moths here were 7 Plain Golds Micropterix calthella, Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana, Bittersweet Smudge Acrolepia autumnitella and Common Marble Celypha lacunana.

Bittersweet Smudge Acrolepia autumnitella, Lolly Moor, 10th May

There was Large Red Damselfly here too, and Orange-tip and Comma plus a few Turnip Sawflies Athalia rosae.

Comma, Lolly Moor, 10th May

Orange-tip, Lolly Moor, 10th May

Turnip Sawfly, Lolly Moor, 10th May

Only 3 moths in the trap that night - a new-for-the-year Spectacle and 2 Muslin Moths.  Also 2 Common Earwigs.

Spectacle, North Elmham, 10th May

Ancylis badiana

I spent much of Friday 5th May birding in the Fens but picked up a few non-birds along the way.  One of a number of Coniopterix Waxflies at Methwold Lode defied identification to species level.  A Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana was easier.  A family of Otters along the River Wissey just west of the beet factory were fun to watch.

Otters, Wissington, 5th May

Further along this path were Orange-tip, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshells, with Brimstones seen at a number of places later on.  I also found this spider which I initially thought looked very distinctive with a turquoise abdomen.  But looking at the photos I realised that the large round turquoise thing at the end of it was in fact an egg sac, so the spider itself wasn't so distinctive.  Might be identifiable though - but not my me at the moment.

unidentified spider, west of Wissington, 5th May

Back closer to home a new bee for me, Flavous Nomad Bee Nomada flava was on the verge at Ryburgh.

Flavous Nomad Bee Nomada flava, Ryburgh, 5th May

This Cereal Leaf Beetle Oulema melanopus/rufocyanea agg. was at home.

Cereal Leaf Beetle Oulema sp., North Elmham, 5th May

A Roe Deer on the patch was looking photogenic...

Roe Deer, Bittering, 5th May

The moth trap that night produced my first Eyed Hawk-moth and Nutmeg of the year, along with Streaked Flat-body Depressaria chaerophylli, Common Flat-body Agonopterix heracliana, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Flame Shoulder, 3 Hebrew Characters and 2 Common Earwigs.

Eyed Hawk-moth, North Elmham, 5th May

Nutmeg, North Elmham, 5th May

Found a Parsnip Moth Depressaria radiella at Ryburgh the following evening before another poor night's moth trapping at home - Brown-spot Flat-body Agonopterix alstromeriana and Flame Carpet were new for the year but Many-plumed Moth Alucita hexadactyla, 3 Hebrew Characters, Early Grey and Clouded-bordered Brindle were the only other moths.

Flane Carpet, North Elmham, 6th May

James Emerson had been to Hills and Holes at Hockham on Saturday and seen a couple of Ancylis badiana, a very smart tortrix moth that I've not seen before.  The forewing markings looked quite chestnut-brown which piqued my interest as Ancylis unculana is said to be distinguished from badiana by have chestnut-brown forewing markings.  Indeed I couldn't find any references which stated any other distinguishing features.  Yet looking at photos of both species I was pretty sure James was correct with his ID - for example the clean creamy surround to the dorsal blotch which was obvious in James' photos was consistently present on images of badiana whereas on all the images I could find of unculuna this was heavily marked with greyish.  Anyway, a site I had been planning to revisit soon, a good chance of a smart new moth, plus a desire to fully resolve an interesting ID conundrum made for an easy decision as to what to do on Sunday afternoon.

So, Dave and I rocked up to Hills and Holes and very soon found lots of insects including 23 Common Rollers Ancylis badiana.  The extent of chestnut colouration varied quite a lot - some were pretty much textbook individuals while others were much more chestnutty.  None looked like online images of unculana though, and for that matter none showed the terminal marks of the third similar species, Ancylis paludana.  I was already confident badiana was the correct ID and now I was even more sure, but just to leave no stone unturned I retained a couple of the more chestnutty coloured ones for gen detting.  The genitalia were, of course, consistent with badiana, apparently wrong for unculana (though the differences don't seem to be huge) (I can't find out what paludana is meant to be like, so that species was only ruled out on external features).

Common Rollers Ancylis badiana, Hills and Holes, 7th May

Other moths seen were 60 Plain Golds Micropterix calthella, Oak Carl Tischeria ekebladella, 2 Green Long-horns Adela reaumurella, Cocksfoot Moth Glyphipterix simpliciella and 4 Grey Gorse Piercers Cydia ulicetana. One female Adela looked really golden-bronze, indeed identical to the individual I posted about the other day which I'd quite unconvincingly concluded must be cuprella.  This time though there were no sallows in the immediate vicinity - surely this wasn't cuprella.  The genitalia were the same as the last one, apparently unlike the published image I had seen of reaumurella, but I still couldn't find any images of cuprella to compare to.  Then I realised that I'd been looking at the reaumurella image wrong - there are two pairs of stick-like appendages joined at the top and on my insects all four appendages were the same length.  The image of reaumurella made it look like one pair was much shorter than the other, but looking at it again I realised the two pairs had been separated so although the tips of one pair fell short of the other they were (probably) the same length.  So both of mine might be reaumurella after all, and despite them not looking green I think that's what they probably both were.

probable Green Long-horn Adela reaumurella, Hills and Holes, 7th May

lots of Plain Golds Micropterix calthella on sedge, Hills and Holes, 7th May

Bugs here included Harpocera thoracica and Red-and-black Froghopper Cercopis vulnerata.

Harpocera thoracica, Hills and Holes, 7th May

Red-and-black Froghopper Cercopis vulnerata, Hills and Holes, 7th May

I keyed this beetle out to Cantharis nigricans but subsequently wondered if I may have made a mistake and it should be Cantharis pellucida having seen Dave's similar insect (from elsewhere) identified as the lattter.  I re-found the specimen and checked the elytra hair again as this seems to be the critical point in the key - "Elytra almost covered with close-set very short pubescence, along with more scattered longer hair" for nigricans and "not as above" for pellucida (there are further species for both but the following couplets key out to nigricans or pellucida).  The elytra are covered with close-set pubescence, though whether that is very short or not is debatable.  There are also some scattered hairs protruding more than the downy hairs and at least some of them are clearly longer than the flatter downy hairs.  So I think I was right - oe else the key is misleading.

Cantharis nigricans, Hills and Holes, 7th May

An intersting selection of Ladybirds included Kidney-spot Ladybird, 7-spot Ladybird, four 14-spot Ladybirds and an 18-spot Ladybird - the latter apparently my first ever.

18-spot Ladybird, Hills and Holes, 7th May

14-spot Ladybirds, Hills and Holes, 7th May

There were half a dozen small shiny round black beetles one of which I retained to identify - but not being sure what family it's in that might take a while.  As I'm already getting behind I think I'll park it for now and come back to it later.

Dave pointed out this Cranefly and I agreed it looked distinctive.  I don't have a key or anything like that for these so please shout if I'm wrong, but I think it's Tipular varipennis, a new one for me.

Tipula varipennis, Hills and Holes, 7th May

Just four moths that night: Scalloped Hazel, Flame Shoulder, Hebrew Character and Early Grey.

Natterjacks, a new weevil and a rainbow halo

A birding trip to Burnham Overy on 1st May didn't produce many moths - just 2 Plain Fanners Glyphipterix fuscoviridella and a Cinnabar, though there was a caterpillar which I haven't yet been able to put a name to (maybe Garden Tiger but it doesn't look quite right to me).  Also Red Admiral, Small Copper and this Natterjack Toad.

Natterjack Toad, Burnham Overy Dunes, 1st May

unidentified caterpillar (possibly Garden Tiger?), Burnham Overy Dunes, 1st May

There was also a Limnephilus auricula (caddisfly) at Holkham.  Not many moths at home again that night but there were two new for the year: Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella and Knot Grass. The others were Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana, Waved Umber, Muslin Moth and 3 Hebrew Characters.

Knot Grass, North Elmham, 1st May

Hawthorn Slender Parornix anglicella (male, gen det), North Elmham, 1st May

This weevil was on my front door (inside) in the morning - although I can't find any definitive statement that the dark line down the join of the elytra is a reliable identifier, all the images I've checked of other Strophosoma and similar species seem to lack it whereas it is apparently characteristic of Nut Leaf Weevil Strophosoma melanogrammum - a new species for me.

Strophosoma melanogrammum, North Elmham, 2nd May

Next day I returned to Burnham Overy where I saw another Natterjack in the dunes, and a Stoat.  Moths included Plain Fanner Glyphipterix fuscoviridella, Dusky Groundling Aroga velocella, Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana and 3 Cinnabars. There were 2 Small Coppers and the brown lacewing Hemerobius humulinus.

Natterjack Toad, Burnham Overy Dunes, 2nd May

Black-headed Conch Cochylis atricapitana, Burnham Overy Dunes, 2nd May

The most impressive natural phenonemon though was this 'glory' - a rainbow halo around my shadow as I walked down the seawall early in the morning.  I think it's also known as Brocken Spectre, though I'm not sure if that's exactly the same thing or not - more often seen in mountains apparently, though I suspect that has something to do with the way the shadow is thrown down a hillside which was sort-of the case here as I was on top of the seawall.

'Glory' or Brocken Spectre, Burnham Overy Dunes, 2nd May

Moths at home that night were Swallow Prominent, White Ermine, Muslin Moth, Clouded Drab and 4 Hebrew Characters, the White Ermine being new for the year.

White Ermine, North Elmham, 2nd May

The following night Brindled Flat-body Agonopterix arenella and Red Twin-spot Carpet were new for the year.  There was also Little Dwarf Elachista canapennella, Swallow Prominent, Pale Tussock and 4 Hebrew Characters, plus the caddisfly Glyphotaelius pellucidus and a Black Sexton Beetle.

Brindled Flat-body Agonopterix arenella, North Elmham, 3rd May

Red Twin-spot Carpet, North Elmham, 3rd May

The following night Scalloped Hazel was new for the year.  Other moths were 2 Red Twin-spot Carpets, Brindled Pug, Brimstone Moth, Swallow Prominent, Muslin Moth and 4 Hebrew Characters. Also the caddisfly Limnophilus sparsus and another Black Sexton Beetle.

Scalloped Hazel, North Elmham, 4th May