Leafmines: Enchanter’s nightshade

03 Saturday Jul 2021

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British leaf mines, British moths, Enchanter's nightshade, Larval mines of Mompha langiella, leafmines on Enchanter's nightshade, Mompha langiella, moth leafmines

I’ve been lingering over leafmines again and have a new one to show you, this time on the lovely little plant that carpets the woodland floor at this time of year, Enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea lutetiana).

210703 Mompha langiella on Enchanters nightshade (1)

210703 Mompha langiella on Enchanters nightshade (2)

The mines, which start off as galleries but are often subsumed into the later blotches, are made during June and July by the larvae of Mompha langiella, a rather nondescript little brown moth. The larvae, as described on the British leafminers website, are ‘light yellow, with darker thoracic legs’ (see photo left below), and, most fortunately, I also found a pupa (below right), which are located ‘occasionally in a mined leaf or in a cocoon between the leaves or on the leaves’.

210703 Mompha langiella on Enchanters nightshade (3)

210703 Mompha langiella on Enchanters nightshade (4)

Though Enchanter’s nightshade is widespread in the places where I walk, I’ve only found one site with these leafmines so far. Can you spot them in your local woodland?

Spindle ermine

24 Thursday Jun 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British moths, moth larvae, moth webs, Spindle ermine, Spindle ermine webs, Yponomeuta cagnagella

It could be Halloween, with reports of ‘ghostly silken webbing’ that ‘can look rather sinister’ and give trees ‘an eerie appearance’. As well as covering parts of trees and hedgerows, apparently the webs are sometimes ‘so extensive that they can cover nearby objects such as benches, bicycles and gravestones’.

But this is June and in my local woodland, the one I showed you in yesterday’s post, the webs, though plentiful, are nowhere near that dramatic. These are the communal dwellings of moth larvae and, though there are several species of ermine moths, as the caterpillar-filled webs I’ve been seeing have all been on Spindle, I think I’m safe in assuming these are the larvae of Spindle ermine (Yponomeuta cagnagella).

210624 spindle ermine (3)

Although these are the first webs I’ve seen, the Butterfly Conservation website reports that Spindle ermine is a common resident, though it is less common in northern parts of Britain. Look for Spindle trees and you might well see these webs for yourself.

A select club

19 Saturday Jun 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, wildflowers

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British moths, British wildflowers, Dyer’s greenweed, Mirificarma lentiginosella, Mirificarma lentiginosella larvae, moth larvae on Dyer's greenweed

A couple of years ago, I discovered through chats to local Butterfly Conservation Senior moth ecologist George that three rare moths use Dyer’s greenweed (Genista tinctoria) as their larval food plant. (There’s a Butterfly Conservation factsheet about these here.)

210619 dyers greenweed

The larvae create little homes for themselves by spinning together the leaves at the tips of Dyer’s greenweed shoots, and, yesterday, after much careful searching, I finally found a ‘spinning’ that was occupied.

George has now confirmed for me that this little beauty is the larva of the nationally scarce moth Mirificarma lentiginosella. And he writes: ‘You now join the select club of people who have seen this species in Wales: you, me, and C.G. Barrett who recorded it in Pembrokeshire in the 1800s’. As you can imagine, I am extremely pleased to have joined this select club!

210619 Mirificarma lentiginosella (3)

Consolation prizes

07 Monday Jun 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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British moths, Cream wave, Latticed heath, moths, Silver Y, The Mocha, Yellow Shell

I’ve had two days recently when I went looking for butterflies and was feeling a little disappointed not to see very many when, all of a sudden, a moth flew by and landed at my feet … like Nature saying ‘Here’s a consolation prize!’ or, maybe, ‘Don’t be a Wally! Look at this amazing creature!’ … and so I did. And then another moth appeared, and another, and …

Cream wave (Scopula floslactata)

Latticed heath (Chiasmia clathrata)

Mocha (Cyclophora annularia)

Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

Yellow shell (Camptogramma bilineata)

Oak: mothy goodness

27 Thursday May 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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Brindled green, British moths, Case-bearing moth, Coleophora flavipennella, Coleophora lutipennella, Dryobotodes eremite, moth larvae, moth larvae on Oak, moths on Oak, Oak leaves

As you can see from the last two days’ blogs, there was much to be found on Oak leaves in my local woodlands on Sunday. These are two more finds, both relating to moths. This first was found on the same tree as the Purple hairstreak larva and, thanks to some help from Twitter moth-ers, I can tell you this is the larva of the Brindled green moth (Dryobotodes eremite) (you can see the adult moth on the UK Moths website here).

210527 brindled green larva

The wonderfully crafted cases in the photos below contain the larvae of either Coleophora lutipennella or Coleophora flavipennella – apparently, it’s not possible to determine the species without waiting for the adult moths to hatch and then dissecting their genitalia, which I’m not going to do. I’m happy just to admire their silk-weaving skills.

210527 Coleophora lutipennella or flavipennella (1)

210527 Coleophora lutipennella or flavipennella (2)

210527 Coleophora lutipennella or flavipennella (3)

Caterpillar in a tent

15 Saturday May 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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British moths, damage to Hazel leaves, Hazel, Hazel leaves, moth caterpillar, Operophtera brumata, Winter moth

While wandering through my favourite woodland earlier this week, I noticed small areas of damage on some Hazel leaves. It looked like a little critter had been munching on them and, checking further, I soon discovered a lot of leaves had suffered similar damage.

Closer inspection of one particular leaf soon revealed the culprit, a caterpillar, tucked away in a snug little tent it had created by binding two leaves together with silken thread. From there it could easily venture out to eat, yet retreat when threatened by predators or bad weather. Smart thinking!

210515 winter moth (2)

I think the caterpillar may be the larva of a Winter moth (Operophtera brumata) but I haven’t yet been able to confirm my identification (Update 16/5: ID now confirmed as Winter moth). Once I was alert to their presence, I noticed more leaf damage and several more ‘tents’, as well as a smaller caterpillar feeding out in the open.

An empty cocoon

17 Saturday Apr 2021

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British moths, cocoon, Elephant hawk-moth, Elephant hawk-moth pupa, moth pupa, pupa

I must admit that, at first sight, this object, which was lying on a dirt path in a paddock in my local country park, had me completely baffled. I even poked it with the toe of my shoe, thinking it might be poo. But, once I looked closer, I could see the outline of wings and realised it was an empty cocoon. But of what?

210417 cocoon (1)

Once I got home, I checked through the pupa images on Peter Eeles’s excellent UK Butterflies website but nothing seemed to fit. So, I posted photos of my find on Twitter and asked the man himself for help. Peter very quickly identified the cocoon as that of an Elephant hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor), a beautiful creature that I’ve not yet seen (click on the moth’s name to see a picture on the UK Moths website). At least now I know they can be found nearby.

210417 cocoon (2)

First caterpillar

06 Saturday Feb 2021

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British caterpillars, British moths, moth caterpillar, moth larvae, Scarlet tiger, Scarlet tiger moth larva

Most unexpectedly, I saw my first caterpillar of the year when I was out walking yesterday. It’s a Scarlet tiger moth caterpillar that was sitting on the stucco wall of a house I passed. According to my Twitter pal George, who’s a senior moth ecologist with Butterfly Conservation, though Scarlet tigers over-winter as larvae, these larvae are not usually seen until the spring. But spring is only a couple of weeks away and, if local bird activity is anything to go by, the wild creatures can already feel it in the air.

210206 scarlet tiger moth caterpillar

George reassuringly told me that caterpillars are tough but I do hope this little one finds somewhere a bit more sheltered to weather the cold spell that’s forecast for the coming week. I’d love to see it again when it emerges as an adult as they’re so beautiful and I’ve only ever seen the adults twice. The photo below, of a Scarlet tiger moth, was taken locally in June 2019.

210206 scarlet tiger moth adult

331/366 Leafmines: Phyllonorycter leucographella

26 Thursday Nov 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, plants

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British moths, Firethorn leaf miner, leaf mines, leaf mines on Pyracantha, leaf-mining larvae, leaf-mining moth, leafminer, moth larvae, moth larvae in leaf mines, Phyllonorycter leucographella

I stumbled across these leaf mines by accident but I simply can’t resist including them … because the tiny striped larvae are so darn cute!

201126 phyllonorycter leucographella (1)

These are the larvae of the moth Phyllonorycter leucographella, the adult of which is also rather striking – you can see photos of it on the UK Moths website here. As the website reports, this moth is a recent arrival to Britain, first spotted in Essex just 40 years ago, but for such a small creature – its wingspan is only 7-9mm – it’s managed to fly and settle far and wide, from Yorkshire in the north of England to Pembrokeshire in the west of Wales, and all points in between. This may partly be due to the fact that its larvae feed on many garden plants: I found an abundance of leaf mines on an orange-berried variety of Firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea), which explains why the moth’s common name is Firethorn leaf miner.

201126 phyllonorycter leucographella (2)

201126 phyllonorycter leucographella (3)

201126 phyllonorycter leucographella (4)

201126 phyllonorycter leucographella (5)

As you can see from my pictures, the larval ‘mine’ is like a blister, centred over the midrib on the upper side of the leaf. The larva, which, with black blobs on a white body, is very distinctive, can often be seen through the membrane of the mine, especially when it’s feeding at the edge of the blister. You can read more about this leaf miner, its life cycle and preferred larval plants on the UK Fly Mines website here.

201126 pyracantha

314/366 Leaf mines: Parornix anglicella

09 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, leaves, trees

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British moths, Hawthorn, leaf mines, leaf mines on Hawthorn, moth larvae in leaf mines, moth leafmines, Parornix anglicella

Here’s another leaf mine to look for in your local hedgerows, a very distinctive mine on Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) made by the larvae of the micro moth Parornix anglicella, also known as the Hawthorn slender.

201109 parornix anglicella cones (1)

Although the newly hatched moth larva initially creates a corridor mine and then a blotch, it later makes itself a cone-shaped tent, using silk to adhere the bent-over edge to the main part of the leaf, and these cones are very easy to spot. Turn over the leaf to view the underside and you’ll find incredibly beautiful, almost sculptural structures, some resembling miniature latticework pyramids.

You can read more scientific detail about the leaf mine on the UK Fly Mines website here, and see what the adult moth looks like on the UK Moths website here.

201109 parornix anglicella cones (6)