Back with a bang; great start to peak miner season

It has been far too long since my last post but now back on the blog, just in time for peak Lep miner season.

Had a very productive weekend in East Kent with over 65 species of Lep miner, a great start to the autumn miner season.

This included no less than EIGHT Parornix species:

P. betulae

P. carpinella

P. devoniella

P. fagivora

P. finitimella
P. scoticella
P. torquilella
P. anglicella

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

Early Stages: Hawthorn miners in abundance

All of the hawthorn hedgerows I look at are currently covered in mines of a range of species, here are four species from the last couple of days:

Ectoedemia atricollis
 


Parornix anglicella
 

Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae

Phyllonorycter corylifoliella

Dave

Meanwhile, back at the mines...

More and more miner finds almost daily now wherever I look - parks, gardens, hedgerows etc etc.

Here's some of the latest to keep an eye out for:

First two, Phyllonorycter esperella on Hornbeam


Also on Hornbeam, Stigmella floslactella


Next two, Parornix anglicella on Hawthorn


Next two, Stigmella plagicolella on Blackthorn


Phyllonorycter coryli on Hazel


Dave