A new day-flying moth for our region

On 10th June Terry Newsome was lucky enough to find this example of the colourful long-horn micro-moth Nemophora fasciella sitting on a marsh thistle in the north fen at the Lye Valley nature reserve in the City of Oxford. 

This is the first sighting of Nemophora fasciella in any of our three counties, its main stronghold being to the east and south-east of us (East Anglia, Kent and Sussex).  While it is known from the bordering counties of Beds, Herts, Middx & Surrey, a find in Oxford is a bit of a leap and suggests that it may well have been overlooked elsewhere too.  Its larvae feed on Black Horehound Ballota nigra and the moth is thought not to stray too far from the food-plant.

Thanks go to Tony Gillie for passing on details of the sighting and to Judy Webb for allowing us to use her picture.