Day-flying micros

I left the CUL pheromone (for Large Red-belted Clearwing, which should be flying now) in a trap within a large area of birch in Oakley Wood, Bernwood Forest for 90 minutes over lunch-time today while carrying out a butterfly transect at the opposite end of the site, but nothing came to the lure.  However, I did see a few micros while there, including Adela reaumurella, Cauchas rufimitrella, Glyphipterix simpliciella, Coleophora lutarea, Hysterophora maculosana & Lathronympha strigana.  Most were sitting around on their larval food-plants.  

Glyphipterix simpliciella, Bernwood 26th May

Coleophora lutarea, Bernwood 26th May

Hysterophora maculosana, Bernwood 26th May

It was certainly good to find Coleophora lutarea again after its discovery here in 2019 (a UK Scarce Notable B list species anyway, but definitely rare in Bucks).  I spent some time looking at Greater Stitchwort but didn't find any cases of the other Coleophoriids which use the plant.  The tortrix Hysterophora maculosana is associated with bluebells and should therefore be fairly common in Bucks but the number of VC records is only just into double figures so it really must be under-recorded.  This is the first time I've seen it in Bernwood although there are a couple of previous records from the site.

In the afternoon I had another transect to do, this time in Finemere Wood, but by then it had clouded over and I managed to see no butterflies there at all (probably a first for me in May!).  However, once again there were a few day-flying moths around, with Green Carpet and Cinnabar active alongside micros Micropterix aruncella, Cauchas rufimitrella, Glyphipterix simpliciella, Elachista canapennella & Grapholita jungiella.  The Micropterix aruncella and Elachista canapennella (two females of the latter species) were swept from speedwell while searching unsuccessfully for Cauchas fibulella which does live here but presumably hasn't emerged yet.

Micropterix aruncella, Finemere 26th May

Cauchas rufimitrella, Finemere 26th May

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks