Coleophora inulae New to Cheshire

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stevehind
Posts: 2908
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:44 am
Location: Higher Poynton, Cheshire

Coleophora inulae New to Cheshire

Post by stevehind »

Coleophora inulae - New to Cheshire:

An adult, male Coleophora inulae was taken during the BioBlitz at Norton Priory on 3rd June 2011 and has only now been determined. This is the first record for north west England. Thanks to Mike Dale and John Langmaid for their help in determining this specimen.

Coleophora inulae feeds on Ploughman’s Spikenard Inula conyza and Common Fleabane Pulicaria dysenterica, the former, on dry downland, is a very rare plant in Cheshire, the latter, and most likely source of this specimen, is locally common in ditches and marshes, although the larva of this moth may also feed on Hemp Agrimony Eupatotium cannabinum. The easiest way to find this moth is to look for the distinctive white patches on the leaves of these foodplants as the larvae feed from beneath.

This is a rare moth nationally, with most sites in southern Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, although there have been recent records from Lincolnshire and at nine sites in Yorkshire, all since 2000, so it may be on the move and well worth searching for.

Regards,
Steve

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Coleophora inulae, male gen prep, photo Mike Dale
Coleophora inulae, male gen prep, photo Mike Dale
SteveH
Posts: 2072
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:50 am
Location: Elton, Cheshire

Re: Coleophora inulae New to Cheshire

Post by SteveH »

The Bio-blitz strikes again - I think that takes the moth total for the Norton Priory Blitz well over 140 species, which is phenomenal for any site in just one 24 hour period.

I know Steve Hind did some leaf mining at Norton Priory later on in the year, as did I, and the total for the site for my own part is 195 so combined we must have logged well over 200 species in just 2-3 days, so clearly it has the potential to become one of the better sites in the County.

Cheers,
Steve

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