Caloptilia cuculipennella in Suffolk

On the night of 10th May I trapped a single C. cuculipennella in my Ipswich (IP4) garden. This had survived the winter somewhere but perhaps not very close as this was the first Suffolk record and it has not been seen in either Norfolk or Essex for over one hundred years (and not at all in Cambridgeshire). I had thought that this would be the end of the story but last night (14th July) I trapped another one in my garden. This is undoubtedly one of a summer brood, so the question has to be is there a small local population? Last night was warm and humid and many moths were on the move but it seems to be quite a coincidence if both had travelled very far to find my trap. So, be on the lookout – I suppose a quick glance and it may be passed over for G. syringella but the oblique brown bands across the forewings are much less well-defined and the first specimen appeared “spotty” to the naked eye. With a hand lens the tufted labial palps are not difficult to see and that and the banded cilia rules out all other related species.Caloptilia cuculipennellaPalps 5

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