One for Ken! (1 Viewer)

[Mike D]

Hi Ken, As mentioned earlier, here are a couple of shots of the 'thingy'!
Pic number 3 (not sure if I can send 3 pics at once, if not, sorry, it will follow) is of the larval stage.

Found: under the floor of my old garden shed in Norwich four days ago during demolition. Many sacs, presumably all holding crysalids.
Size of moth: approx 2 to 2.5 cm.

So far I've had 7 or 8 emerge. The first two had damaged wings, they looked like they had not inflated fully after emergence, but the rest have been okay.

Features: Irridescent green when the light hits the wings right. Pinkish-purple with dark brown/black markings. Hind edge of front wings when in rest position show scalloped effect, as if there are fairly thick veins present. Prominent 'beak' and long antennae held back against wings when perched.

Sorry for poor quality of lighting, but perhaps another feature is their acute awareness of the presence of a camera! Spent half an hour persuing this one round my kichen before I managed to get these shots.

Any ideas? Not in my books, or the ones we have at RSPB Strumpshaw.

 

[harry eales]

Hi Ken, As mentioned earlier, here are a couple of shots of the 'thingy'!
Pic number 3 (not sure if I can send 3 pics at once, if not, sorry, it will follow) is of the larval stage.

Found: under the floor of my old garden shed in Norwich four days ago during demolition. Many sacs, presumably all holding crysalids.
Size of moth: approx 2 to 2.5 cm.

So far I've had 7 or 8 emerge. The first two had damaged wings, they looked like they had not inflated fully after emergence, but the rest have been okay.

Features: Irridescent green when the light hits the wings right. Pinkish-purple with dark brown/black markings. Hind edge of front wings when in rest position show scalloped effect, as if there are fairly thick veins present. Prominent 'beak' and long antennae held back against wings when perched.

Sorry for poor quality of lighting, but perhaps another feature is their acute awareness of the presence of a camera! Spent half an hour persuing this one round my kichen before I managed to get these shots.

Any ideas? Not in my books, or the ones we have at RSPB Strumpshaw.

Hello Mike,

I think there are going to be more people confused by this insect than just Ken.

It appears to be a Pyralid, probably one of the Crambinae. Unfortunately I cannot lighten your pictures in my photo editing software, which may have given a better view of the specimen, leading to easier identification. Perhaps someone else can do the 'honours' here.

Some Crambids do breed and pupate in high densities, but I have never seen so many cocoons in such a small space. This is usually indicitive of a pest species breeding in some stored product.

What was stored either in your shed, or underneath it, prior to the demolishion of it? This may give an indication of what species it is.

Harry

 

[Surreybirder]

Hi, Mike. Thanks!
Like Harry, I can hardly see the pix--they just appear as silhouettes on my screen. But if it's a pyralid, I'm no help at all!
You could try sending one in the post to Harry!

 

[Angus T]

Hi Ken, As mentioned earlier, here are a couple of shots of the 'thingy'!
Pic number 3 (not sure if I can send 3 pics at once, if not, sorry, it will follow) is of the larval stage.

Found: under the floor of my old garden shed in Norwich four days ago during demolition. Many sacs, presumably all holding crysalids.
Size of moth: approx 2 to 2.5 cm.

So far I've had 7 or 8 emerge. The first two had damaged wings, they looked like they had not inflated fully after emergence, but the rest have been okay.

Features: Irridescent green when the light hits the wings right. Pinkish-purple with dark brown/black markings. Hind edge of front wings when in rest position show scalloped effect, as if there are fairly thick veins present. Prominent 'beak' and long antennae held back against wings when perched.

Sorry for poor quality of lighting, but perhaps another feature is their acute awareness of the presence of a camera! Spent half an hour persuing this one round my kichen before I managed to get these shots.

Any ideas? Not in my books, or the ones we have at RSPB Strumpshaw.

I think I've cracked it.
Any chance that you may have had bees or wasps under your shed. Or do you remember having alot of them about.

Your description and photos match Bee Moth Aphomia sociella..................I think

 

[harry eales]

I think I've cracked it.
Any chance that you may have had bees or wasps under your shed. Or do you remember having alot of them about.

Your description and photos match Bee Moth Aphomia sociella..................I think

I think you have cracked it too Angus. It is a very communal species and the cocoons fit in as well.

Harry

 

[Surreybirder]

It was on the tip of my tongue......LOL (tasted pretty bad, actually)

 

[Reader]

Definitely a Bee Moth. I have had a few in our house this past week. One of them also had a damaged wing, that looked like a piece had been bitten off, and the other two seemed to have different colouration to them. I have attached 3 photos.

 

[Mike D]

Yep - looks like Angus gets the prize! Looking at the pics from Reader, especially the one on the right and it's a dead-ringer.
As to the contents of my old shed - anything from cycle safety helmets to Kilner jars to old carpet to an old mouse nest!

Thanks a lot for the ID, I'll print this out and follow it up. Never heard of a Bee Moth before, heard of bee-flies (Bombys). It will keep me out of trouble for a while learning the life-cycle of them.

 

[Mike D]

Here is an enlarged and lightened copy of one of the pics. Kind of clinches it.