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NORWICH: Moth-trapping & beetle influx

23rd August 2016

The hot weather and southerly winds meant promising conditions for migrant moths, and having never seen species like Vestal or Convolvulus Hawk Moth we went round to the in-laws and put the moth trap out for a bit. We did catch a few macros, including Old Lady, Yellow-barred Brindle and Green Carpet, but the only possible migrants were Diamond-back Moths. I did catch a new micro moth for me, Mompha subbistrigella.

 Old Lady
Mompha subbistrigella

Perhaps of more interest is that moth-trappers across the county noticed that amongst all of the other insects that are attracted to the light, there was a huge influx of small orangey beetles over these few days. Other naturalists such as Andy Musgrove determined that they were a mixture of Bradycellus verbasci and B. harpalinus. I did have a closer look at one of mine (the shape of the rear pronotum is a key feature) and as expected it was Bradycellus verbasci.

Bradycellus verbasci

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