Catoptria margaritella and other wanderers

The distinctive Pearl-banded Grass-veneer (Catoptria margaritella) made its first Dingestow appearance at MV on 19th July. There are 7 previous Gwent records: four on the coast, one in Rogerstone and two in Usk. So far, nobody has found this bog/heath moth in a likely breeding habitat in VC35, although it is common in wetlands in Carmarthenshire and other parts of Wales. It is possible that the Dingestow individual wandered from Wentwood, as the wind was from the SSW, but the concentration of past records on the Gwent coast suggests that our C. margaritella originate from Exmoor or the Quantock Hills. It was accompanied by a Map-winged Swift and a True Lover's Knot, as well as a gorgeous Endotrichia flammealis.