Bagging a Midget

I'm not referring to some below average height Monarch. Last Friday evening a local recorder Hazel Graves posted some leaf mines on our VC55 Facebook group that she believed to be Phyllonorycter pastorella. I confirmed that these did indeed look right, that there were no previous VC55 records and that this was a species only added to the British List in 2014. The post did not give any details for the record at that point. Given that it was a likely VC55 first I suggested posting to the British Leafminers group for confirmation, whilst also asking for the details.

By early afternoon on Saturday, I'd not seen a response and so decided to go out and have a nosey around at a likely site. I figured the Soar Valley was as good a place to check as any, but I was short on time so needed somewhere I could park up and check out quickly. Narborough Bog and Everard's Meadows are closer to home but would need a bit of a walk before hitting likely prime habitat, whereas Aylestone Meadows is a little further but I could be searching within a couple of minutes of parking up. So off I headed, and literally five minutes after parking I found mines on a big hybrid crack willow of some sort. I carried on searching and within half an hour or so I'd found it at three spots alongside the canal, all in the same tetrad and all on long-leaved crack willow type trees. Whilst I was out, Hazel posted some details: actually found the previous weekend at - Aylestone Meadows, albeit further north closer to the King Power stadium but within the same tetrad as those I found. Confirmed by Rob Edmunds.

I collected a handful of mines in the hope I'd find one tenanted. I ended up with a couple tenanted with fresh pupae intact, and a couple vacated. Here's an example showing the relatively large mine with a single crease and feeding marks on the upper surface:

When backlit, the pupa is visible in the mine laying pretty much parallel to the crease, with all the frass piled up at the other end.

I was confident that one would emerge fairly soon, and have been checking them every morning, late afternoon and again before going to bed. Last night, I found one had emerged at some point during the evening ....

Phyllonorycter pastorella - needless to say a new moth for me

Not a typical shiny Phyllonorycter with white streaks and strigulae, but quite smart all the same. I mentioned this being added to the British List in 2014 - that was when mines were found in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. Hence the daft (unused) vernacular Royal Midget. Since the weekend, after alerting other leaf mine recorders, it's been found near to Burbage which is much further south and well away from the first site. I suspect this will turn out to be fairly well spread and established within a year or two.

I also found some mines on Ash at last after having had a blind spot for them for a long while, and then found more on Sunday during a bit more square-bashing.

Cone and vacated cocoon within of Caloptilia cuculipennella at Aylestone Meadows

Early-stage leaf mine of Caloptilia cuculipennella at Stapleton

Blotch mines of Gracillaria syringella at Stapleton

Faith, Healed

Ok, so I got the final outcome from the consultants at a post-op follow up last Friday with Nichola. Bottom line - no discussions about how long I've got and no further treatment; lymph nodes clear and resection margins microscopically clear (r0) so essentially I am cancer-free and can get on with planning and living my life like anyone else. No guarantees of course, although ongoing surveillance for five years is reassuring, but it's absolutely the best outcome I could have hoped for. Just got to get on with physical recovery, though I'm feeling a bit stronger every day and from today I'm logging on to work for a while to get back on top of things.

I'm also taking on the VC55 CMR role formally from hereon in. I've been covering the role since Adrian's passing, but of course was hesitant to formalise anything too quickly and whilst I had my own health cloud. There is much to do, initially just to get a grip on a few things.

I ran the garden trap for a couple of nights before the weekend, and picked up x3 new micros in the process - one of which was completely new to me. Ironically though, the first new micro was almost overlooked.

From 28/07/2022 there were x2 Brown-line Bright-eye in the trap that I couldn't remember having here before, and x2 Caloptilia semifascia that has been turning up in gardens regularly over the last couple of years or so. It didn't remotely click that mine wasn't one of them. It was only when checking for last dates that the penny dropped, and thankfully I'd potted both to ensure a photo anyway. Turned out that after all I had recorded Brown-line Bright-eye here before - albeit way back in 2000 & 2003.

Caloptilia semifascia - garden tick

Worn but welcome Brown-line Bright-eye - not a garden tick!

The following night, another couple of micros that this time I knew were new ....

Caloptilia cuculipennella - new for me and the garden

Nephopterix angustella - seems to be having a good year locally

"All you've got to do is feel, your body's going to start to heal,
Fingertips of holy fire, everlasting sweet desire,
It don't matter what the doctors say, Healer man, sail away,
Immortality for two, miracles will come to you.
The faith healer, the faith healer"