Mines by the dozen

Literally dozens of mines around now from a wide range of species and food plants...

Callisto denticulella on Apple


Parornix anglicella on Hawthorn

Phyllonorycter coryli on Hazel

Parornix devoniella on Hazel

Leucospilapteryx omissella on Mugwort

The Holy Grail: found....

The adults of this species have been turning up at the back garden trap every July for several years now, giving a strong indication of a breeding population close by. However, I have been searching for years to find the incontrovertible evidence of breeding - the larvae.

So it was that a few weeks ago, I stumbled across this solitary Yponomeuta larva, that looked that little bit different, it being alone also raised my expectations as this species gets all Greta Garbo as it matures, unlike many of its congeners.



 A few days later, pupation and again, cross-referencing images on the Internet (the few I could find anyway) raised my expectations even further, until on Sunday 7th July, the adult emerged confirming my hopes and suspicions and ticking off one of my Holy Grails.

New UK foodplant for miner

As tentatively reported back in May: http://kentmicromoths.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/early-stages-phyllonorycter.html

I found what appeared to be the mine of Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae on Pyracantha, 
which to that point was not recorded from this foodplant in the UK.

The adult has now emerged, confirming the ID, and as such a new foodplant.

Miner season shifts up a gear

The number of miners is now steadily on the rise. Here are some of the latest finds...
 Antispila metalella mine in Dogwood
 
Lyonetia clerkella mine on Hawthorn
 
Stigmella hybnerella mine on Hawthorn
  Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae mine on Hawthorn Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae mine on Hawthorn - underside

Yp, Yp hooray

Have been busy searching for larval stages of the monochrome marvels that are the Yponomeutidae and have so far managed to find three species all within 50 yards of home. A sample of each has been collected for rearing, so watch this space...


Yponomeuta plumbella larva ex mine on Spindle

Yponomeuta padella larvae on Hawthorn

Yponomeuta cagnagella in communal web on Spindle

The 'top prize' of Y. irrorella still eludes me but it must be out here amongst this lot somewhere as a handful of adults have been turning up in the garden each year for the past four years, the search continues...

Rear we go again...

The larvae I have collected over recent weeks and months continue to pupate and emerge quite regularly now, with the latest arrival being this little gem - Ptycholoma lecheana.



This really illustrates one of the many things that make it all worthwhile - extremely fresh specimens that tend to pose quite readily

Consonant, consonant, consonant, another consonant...

No not a tricky letter choice on Countdown but the start of the name of one of my favourite micros that came to the garden trap last night.

There aren't many words, let alone moths, that have to wait until the fifth letter of their name to use a vowel but Phtheochroa rugosana is one such example.  Hard to spell, never mind pronounce, but a stunning moth and one I look forward to each year.  This one was hiding under the trap this morning.