Have you twigged yet?

Whilst the images in this post might not be much to write home about, I was very pleased to find this as it was a new species for me.  This moth is rather scarce but is surely under-recorded.



This was on the first branch I looked closely at and was the only one I found despite searching for a further 15 mins or so, in the pouring rain at Elhampark Woods, East Kent.

Early stages: Scrobipalpa instabilella

One from the salt marsh for a change. There were hundreds and hundreds of these on Sea Purslane on the Medway Estuary near Oare yesterday, the feeding signs and larval spinnings are very obvious, so if you are near any salt marsh this is certainly one worth keeping an eye out for.

 
 
 

Early stages: Ectoedemia heringella

It is still worth checking Quercus ilex for leaf mines: I found dozens of these tenanted mines (and hundreds vacated) yesterday evening, here in East Kent. This moth is known to be spreading from London and the South East, so worth keeping an eye out. On the same tree also watch out for Phyllonorycter messaniella, Stigmella suberivora and old mines of Acrocercops brongniardella - these were all present on the trees I searched yesterday.

Just in case

A bit of searching has yielded dividends over the last few days.

Plenty of Coleophora albitarsella on Ground Ivy, particularly that growing in the shelter of Bramble.




And this needle in a haystack on a lichen-covered Oak tree close to home today - Narycia duplicella

 
 

Early stages: Argyresthia brockeella

This moth is one of the many whose larvae feed on the catkins of Birch, so has to be reared through for confirmation of ID.  But that said, it is definitely worth keeping a few pots of catkins to see what   emerges.

Whilst there may not be many visible external signs early on, if you keep these in pots you will soon see frass begin to accumulate as it is expelled from the catkin through a small hole.





This moth emerged a few days ago from catkins collected in early January at Fowlmead Country Park near Deal.

 

Early stages: Elachista apicipunctella

Well I didn't have long to wait to confirm the ID of the Elachista sp. larvae found mining Dactylis on the 2nd March.


Mine on Dactylis - housed two larvae


One of the larvae, pre-pupation

The larvae duly pupated a couple of days later and today, 21st March, the adults emerged...confirming the ID as E. apicupunctella.



Dave

A Beautiful Plume indeed

This one was new for the year to the garden MV trap last night, Amblyptilia acanthadactyla,
otherwise known as the Beautiful Plume, which in this case is certainly apt.



Other micros from last couple of nights nothing to write home about: several Epiphyas postvittana, good numbers of Agonopterix heracliana and Emmelina monodactyla.

Dave