Stitchwort Moths

Over the past couple of decades I've wasted a large amount of time looking at flowers of Greater Stitchwort in Bucks at this time of year in search of one particular uncommon day-flying moth species, the rather dull-looking dark grey Coleophora (was Metriotes) lutarea.  At lunchtime today I actually managed to find it!  Having parked my car at the far eastern end of the main track through Shabbington Wood in Bernwood Forest in order to carry out the weekly butterfly transect in the Highways Agency's M40 Compensation Area (note that this is a site with no public access), I glanced as usual at the flowering Stitchwort growing beneath the oaks and was amazed to find one, then another and another ... the total eventually came to ten examples of Coleophora lutarea in a 10-minute search.  Two more were seen on Stitchwort in the Compensation Area making a dozen in all, which was very pleasing indeed because the moth has only been recorded once before in Bucks, at West Wycombe back in 1988 by Phil Sterling.  It really must be more widespread than this so please, if you are out and about in the daytime, check out those Stitchwort flowers!   Having failed to take a camera with me I have only the grotty iPhone image below of the moth on its food-plant, so I brought one example home to photograph.

Coleophora lutarea, Shabbington Wood 10th May

Coleophora lutarea, Shabbington Wood 10th May

There were actually more moth than butterfly species seen on the transect, with Adela reaumurella, Adela rufimitrella, Glyphipterix simpliciella, Glyphipterix fuscoviridella, Ancylis badiana, Epiblema cirsiana/sticticana (one retained to confirm), Grapholita jungiella, Grapholita compositella, Pyrausta purpuralis, Angle Shades, Small Yellow Underwing & Burnet Companion also recorded in the sunshine.

Grapholita compositella, M40 Compensation Area 10th May

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks