Protect caterpillars as UK’s moth population plummets, urge charities Instead of removing plant-munching caterpillars, gardeners asked to take relaxed attitude to support the moths many of them grow into

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

#teammoth

NB Start of quote in paragraph 5

Iron ore from Kiruna to Narvik

Add the wasp record to iRecord as Ophion obscuratus sensu stricto

A note from a mid-19th century entomological magazine

From The Entomologist’s Weekly Intelligencer, 2, 1857 (a sort of #teammoth from a distant pre-internet age.) A brief note that speaks volumes about the mid-19th century lepidopterist.

Stagecoach Gloucester bus stop flag listing late 1990s school services, wrapped in clematis.

Coincidentally, this one from Gloucester today - pre 2000(?) Stagecoach logo with long defunct school services.

Moth trapping - Butterfly Conservation Free essays, homework help, flashcards, research papers, book reports, term papers, history, science, politics

studylib.net/doc/5907041/...

Second generation Vine’s Rustic

A FIELD GUIDE TO THE SMALLER MOTHS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND (4th Edition-Digital) - British Entomological & Natural History Society

Not so much for the book shelf in its new format, but an excellent guide.

A FIELD GUIDE TO THE SMALLER MOTHS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND (4th Edition-Digital)

www.benhs.org.uk/publications...

Stigmella basiguttella - a vacated mine filled with brown frass

Ectoedemia albifasciella, a corridor leading to a squarish blotch

Stigmella svenssoni. This seems to tick all the right boxes - egg, in this case upperside, next to a vein; initial section of mine is perpendicular to the vein; mine is very long; frass predominantly in coils.

Part 2: some Oak mines.
Vacated Stigmella basiguttella, new to the 10km square; vacated Ectoedemia albifasciella; and the best of the lot, what is almost certainly vacated Stigmella svenssoni.
#teammoth

The early stage of E heringella mines in Holm Oak. Typically large numbers of mines per leaf.

Ectoedemia occultella in the remains of a green island in a Birch leaf

A weathered Stigmella tiliae mine in a Lime leaf

Coptotriche marginea mines in a Bramble leaf.

The season’s not over yet… part 1
From 40 minutes at Robin’s Wood, Gloucester y’day. The next generation of Ectoedemia heringella in Holm Oak, Ectoedemia occultella in Birch (first site record), Stigmella tiliae in Lime and Coptotriche marginea in a Bramble species.
#teammoth

Long Stigmella mines with varying frass. Possible svenssoni, but there again.

Possible E quinquella, in so far as the 2 on left have contorted early sections and under side eggs.

There are an awful lot of these, where the larva is dead and discoloured. Perhaps when we all have pocket DNA kits…..

And why it’s not worth the bother - it’s so frustrating!
Details in Alt text.

Stigmella basiguttella, frass filled and in November, a brown snake.

Ectoedemia quinquella, the Holy Grail of green island miners

Stigmella atricapitella (probably), the one with a black head

Why it’s worth giving Oak green islands a second look.
Details in Alt text. All from local parks in the last 2 days.
#teammoth

Vacated Stigmella mines in Oak are very difficult to identify. It’s unlikely that this one will be resolved.

It’s the age old problem of trying to assess characteristics when the subject is in an egg box and lit artificially. Day light wins every time.

Bottom left is probably not a mine. As for the others, not only is plant ID vital, but also consider what you can see on the leaves and compare that with what we can see. Context is vital so that size, shape and position can be assessed.

A late Vine’s?

The Beech mine is probably Stigmella tityrella

Third photo shows 2 contrasting parts of the mine where it switches from one side of the leaf to the other: a feature of S tiliae mines.

Not a clear cut example of either of the Beech Phyllonorycters. P. maestingella mine is typically longer and forms an arch in the leaf. Messaniella is shorter.

This is indeed tityrella.

Note the point of origin of the mine, between a vein and the midrib. The egg would be visible on the underside of the leaf among the cluster of hairs = Stigmella tityrella, an example where the mine is incomplete

Compensation (?) for a cold wet walk on the Berkshire Downs above Uffington on 14/10.
Probable feeding evidence of Coleophora ahenella in Buckthorn. Large cream coloured blotches with large feeding holes.
#teammoth

#teammoth

C. honoratella, early stage mine in Sycamore

C honoratella early stage mine in Sycamore

L Clerkella mine in False Acacia

Bucculatrix mine in Pear

Some leaf mine bits and pieces from Cheltenham today.
Caloptilia honoratella mines in Sycamore (first mine record for VC33); Lyonetia clerkella mine in Robinia pseudoacacia (probable xenophagy, larva dead) and Bucculatrix bechsteinella in pear (an unusual foodplant in Glos).

#teammoth

P pastorella mine in Crack Willow

Frass inside pastorella mine

Front of dead pupa inside mine

Phyllonorycter pastorella
Looking at the underside of Crack Willow leaves in the garden produced this example of a mine with a string central crease. Approx 10mm long axis, unfortunately it was parasitized (hole at 9 o’clock) Mine contained frass and front of pupa.
First for Glos

Final thought - Sorbus species are a pain, but can you identify the tree?

Can you find the egg?

Definitely Stigmella species, but which one! The key here lists Whitebeam, but the Stigmella sp. are mainly associated with Rowan
leafmines.co.uk/html/mine-gu...

This has a longer list, including some rarities

bladmineerders.nl/host-plants/...

Look again in a few weeks when the leaves turn to a yellowish tone. Cerasicolella mines show up well then - long, thin mines, arching the leaf which will still be green.
Your mine is not a textbook example of anything and is best ignored.