Early stages: Hypericum miners

These mines on Hypericum are still around in profusion at the moment: Eucalybites auroguttella and Ectoedemia septembrella


Eucalybites auroguttella



Ectoedemia septembrella

Early stages: Rowan leaf miners

Rowan is host to a number of Lepidopteran leaf miners, some of which are illustrated here.

Stigmella sorbi


Stigmella nylandriella


Stigmella magdalenae

Phyllonorycter sorbi

Early stages: Ectoedemia quinquella

A walk in Ruberries Wood, near Frogham, East Kent (VC15), in the rain at the weekend paid dividends - over 40 species as miners and other early stages, including one brand new one for me: Ectoedemia quinquella mines on Oak.

Multiple mines


Close up of young larva in mine


Close up of mature larva in mine

Get 'em while they last:late Autumn miners galore

Despite the wind and the rain, there are still plenty of leaf mines around, but you'll need to act quickly as most of the leaves won't be around for much longer...

Phyllonorycter lautella on Oak, Faggs Wood, Canterbury

Phyllonorycter tristrigella on Elm, Fredville Park, Nonington

Phyllonorycter stettinensis on Alder

Phyllonorycter rajella on Alder

Phyllonorycter lantanella on Viburnum, Aylesham, East Kent

Ectoedemia subbimaculella on Oak, Clowes Wood, Canterbury

Ectoedemia occultella on Birch, Aylesham, East Kent

Back on the blog

Well work has been too manic to allow any time to keep the blog going, but hopefully now back and able to catch up a bit. To kick start things, just a few early stage finds of late...
Coleophora albitarsella
Coleophora gryphipennella

Coleophora alticolella/glaucicolella
Coleophora argentula

A case of the Yp's: Part II

In a follow on from the previous post,   http://kentmicromoths.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/a-case-of-yps-part-i.html  here are the other two Yponomeuta species that I have found in the larval stage already this year: two of the Spindle feeders - Y. cagnagella and Y. plumbella. These both seem quite numerous this year.

Y. plumbella - larval feeding signs: wilted shoots



Y. cagnagella - larval web

A case of the Yp's - Part I

Already this year I have been lucky enough to find the early stages of four members of the Yponomeutid family, the first two of which are included here: Yponomeuta rorrella and Y. padella

Very pleased in particular with rorrella as this is the first time I've found this in the larval stage. This web was on Salix at Fowlmead CP near Deal, East Kent.

Y. rorrella larval web and larvae


Also Y. padella - found several webs on Hawthorn and Blackthorn
Two of the Spindle feeders to follow...

Evening sweep

A very productive early evening walk with the net yesterday, the highlights were...
Micropterix tunbergella


Gracillaria syringella

Incurvaria masculella Also lots of larval webs of Yponomeuta cagnagella and feeding signs of Y. plumbella and various larval spinnings on a range of plants.

Miner miscella-ny

Whilst this was one miner I had been searching chalk downland for for a while, it ended up being a totally accidental discovery...Mompha miscella on Common Rock-Rose (Helianthemum nummularium)



I had noticed various larval spinnings on Rock Rose and had potted some up, I decided to add a few extra leaves as food supply and lo and behold one of these was tenanted by the larva of Mompha miscella.  This appears to be pretty scarce in Kent (or perhaps more accurately, scarcely recorded or looked for).

There are also plenty of Eriocrania mines on Birch now including:

The longest wait...

Having collected mines of various Ericorania species last May and boxing them up more in hope than expectation, the first two E. chrysolepidella emerged yesterday after a wait of over 10 months, longer than the human gestation period.




 This was one of the mines:

Mint provides new currency for the garden

Potted up this Acleris literana flitting about the trap a couple of nights ago, a new one for the garden.




I love the colour; there aren't too many mint green moths.

What's that cat?

The recent weather also means that the frequency of early stage finds is increasing, with plenty of larvae to be found, their location betrayed by the distorting effects of their spinnings in many cases.

I have tentative IDs for these, any suggestions welcome though, and hopefully will be able to rear them through to adulthood.

Anthophila fabriciana? On Stinging Nettle

Pandemis corylana? On Bramble

Early stages: Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana)

The Rosemary bushes in my garden are covered in dozens of easy to spot larval spinnings of Epiphyas postvittana: if this is anything to go by, it looks like this moth will be extremely abundant this year.

The Ox-eyes have it

Lots of very active larvae of Bucculatrix nigricomella on the Oxeye Daisy plants in the garden this week: both of young, mining larvae and later free-living stages. This species took my 2014 total to over 50, achieved by the last day of February.

Early stages: Caryocolum tricolorella

Found several larval spinnings of this species today; it's worth having a close look at any Greater Stitchwort as the distortion caused by the larva is quite obvious. Dave