With apologies for the poor photo below (I needed to get to work), this Duponchelia fovealis was a surprise find in the moth trap this morning. I vaguely recall seeing the first Suffolk record of this species when one was found indoors at Matthew’s family home in Rendham (Aug 2002), and then being present when one was taken during a moth group meet at Aldeburgh / Thorpness (Sept 2003), but have not seen one since. The website mentions two further Suffolk records – in Reydon (Sept 2003) and Eye (Sept 2004) – so it would be interesting to know if anyone else has encountered this species in the intervening years.
Nice catch Paul. I took one on Hollesley Marshes in the days when the site was accessible, on 28th September 2014. I put it down as an immigrant since it was near the coast and nowhere near any garden or garden centre.
Hello Raymond. Thanks for feedback. Seems mine could be the 6th Suffolk record then and, likely, a first for VC26 West Suffolk. I handed the moth over to Matthew today so will be set and kept. Was somewhat surprised when got back to the car after work and checked the tube it was in to see a load of eggs, so a female. Am hoping M’ will keep an eye on things to see if they are fertile. Seems that the larvae may have fairly wide ranging tastes foodplant wise.