Agriphila selasella

Last night the garden trap at Westcott produced my first example for this year of Agriphila selasella.  Although classified as 'local', this is a fairly widespread species in our three counties but is easily dismissed as "just another Agriphila tristella", so I thought I'd add photographs here of both species.

The ground colour in tristella varies considerably and the one shown below is a particularly dark specimen.  The light streak is creamy-coloured, narrows at one-third and branches into four fairly obvious 'fingers' at two-thirds, while the termen (end of wing) has a fairly rounded appearance.

Agriphila tristella, Westcott 9th August

The ground colour in selasella is fairly consistently a sandy brown colour.  The light streak is white with a noticeable thin black line on the costal (lower) side, doesn't narrow at one-third, the branching into 'fingers' at two-thirds is less obvious and the termen is more substantial and squared in appearance.  

Agriphila selasella, Westcott 9th August

The facial cone in tristella is normally more substantial too but that's not a particularly reliable feature because it can become worn quite quickly.

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks