Had a couple of fairly brief sessions looking for leaf-mines this week. Firstly a couple of hours in Hell Coppice (Bernwood Forest) on the afternoon of the 17th turned up 40 species (though I didn't really get stuck into the many oak miners). Highlights were a few mines of Tischeria dodonaea on Oak and lots of mines of Phyllonorycter mespilella on Wild-Service Tree, both of which were new ones for me (along with an adult Epinotia maculana sat under an Aspen). I've looked for mespilella on Whitebeam on the chalk a few times, and never found it, so nice to finally tick it off.
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| Tischeria dodonaea mine on Oak |
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| Phyllonorycter mespilella mine on Wild-Service Tree |
I spent a fair bit of time targetting Aspen, as the Phyllonorycter associated with it (the RDB sagitella) seems to be turning up in new places (Norfolk this year, Herefordshire and Beds last year) and has a rather disjointed distribution that comes quite close to Upper Thames anyway. No luck (but one to keep looking out for), though I did find several mines of Ectoedemia argyropeza and Stigmella assimilella as compensation.
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| Stigmella assimilella mine on Aspen |
I also had a couple of shorter sessions around Oxford this week, at Longbridges Nature Park and Astons Eyot checking the Pear trees for their rare Stigmellas (of which no sign). These turned up most of the usual miners of Willows, Alders, and Apples, with added interest from Phyllonorycter comparella (White Poplar) and sorbi (Rowan).
Hello Will,
ReplyDeleteThe Bernwood species list for Bucks is getting close to the 1,000 mark, of which more than 850 have been recorded by Peter Hall and I over the last ten years, and you've just added a couple more to it, so thanks very much! Tischeria dodonea hasn't been seen there before (nearly all the Bucks records are from the south of the county) and neither has Phyllonorycter mespilella. There's a line of Wild Service Trees by the deer fence in Oakley Wood which I've searched unsuccessfully a few times but I didn't know about any in Hell Coppice. There are only a couple of records for mespilella in Bucks, both on Whitebeam (Pavis Wood and Burnham Beeches). I have several active Phyllonorycter mines on Whitebeam leaves from Grangelands in a pot at home which I hope will prove to be that species if I'm successful at rearing them through, although there are other possibilities (blancardella, hostis & sorbi). All I've had so far is a wasp or two!
A challenge for you if you go back to Bernwood is to look for mines of Ectoedemia atrifrontella and Ectoedemia longicaudella on oak. The latter is Peter's claim to fame and after more than ten years I'm not aware of it having been found anywhere else in the UK. We've had adults of both species to light fairly regularly over the period since longicaudella was first discovered (most recently 2018 for atrifrontella and 2019 for longicaudella) so I'm sure they're both still there.
Thanks Dave, very pleased to add to your and Peter's illustrious history of recording in Bernwood! I only found 3 Wild Service in Hell Coppice, but plenty of mines on all of them (and interestingly what also look to be Bucculatrix bechsteinella on there). If I recall correctly there are also quite a few along the main ride in Waterperry Wood? Though I didn't have a chance to go and look at them.
DeleteI hadn't noticed that Bernwood was the only UK site for longicaudella - how exciting! Is it in Oakley/Shabbington that you've caught it? I'll definitely keep an eye out for them, looks like the mines can be found right through the winter as well.
We have adult records for longicaudella from Oakley Wood, Shabbington Wood and York's Wood, so it seems to be fairly well spread through most of the main part of the Forest apart from Hell Coppice (and that's not to say it isn't there as well, of course). It might even be over the road in Waterperry Wood too which is VC23.
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