1st Case of a Larval case- Coleophora ibipennella

1st recorded Larval-case of Coleophora ibipennella

Tuesday 2nd June

Newhouse Industrial Estate, Chepstow

Took a trip down to the Industrial Estate this hot afternoon and was really surprised at how dry the ground had become during this mini drought. Some smaller English Elm trees were struggling to get established with leaves brown and shrivelled. Even some of the grassy areas were brownish yellow with very little green hues to be seen apart from thistles, Knapweed and Ox-eye daisy. Orchids here, of which there were more than I could remember, were out in purple splendour and I even caught sight of a isolated Bee-orchid.
My real mission here was to look for Lepidoptera and I did see 8 butterflies and several moths.
Erratically flying around my head though, as I was looking and much to my irritation, was a mechanical form of insect, a drone. It was not sort I particularly wanted to see really so I moved away out of range so I was not being spied upon... or so I felt.
Away from spy-cam, only 1 Common Blue showed itself and 7 Marbled White, but nothing else for butterflies, I think it was too hot.
I managed to disturb a few moths out of the grasses, bramble and the few trees dotted here.

Mompha ochraceella (Buff Cosmet)

I tempted an interesting micro out a tree. Taking several photographs it turned out to be Mompha ochraceella (Buff Cosmet). It was only my second encounter of this micro. My first was at home on an isolated trap session in 2018, so a good start.
At another tree I tapped out 4 Green Oak Tortrix before noticing a leaf mine. This I could not identify unfortunately but as I turned something else caught my eye.

Larval Case of Coleophora ibipennella

An odd shaped case rose up at an angle from an Oak leaf. I was sure it was a moth case after seeing a few on the leaf-miners web site. Close up photographs and a measurement of this case had me onto Coleophora ibipennella but I wanted to make sure. After contacting Sam Bosanquet, he was happy with my suggestion I put forward to him and commented that he had never seen one as yet. This then would put this finding of this Larval case of this micro, the first for Vice County 35. As for the moth itself, this is the 7th record overall.

Adult captured in 2016 at Litlle Gorrashill Wood, Shirenewton