22nd March ... Mompha subbistrigella

If you have an old garden shed/outbuilding, then now is the time to start looking for overwintering Mompha subbistrigella.
Last year I recorded around 90 from 1st April to early June on the inside of the shed windows in the late afternoons and many more went unrecorded.
This example was found yesterday afternoon ...

892 Mompha subbistrigella

Mompha epilobiella is another that is found overwintering in the shed, usually appearing a little later than subbistrigella, but in much smaller numbers.
Same size and shape but sandy in colour.
The very similar Mompha sturnipennella (Nationally scarce B) has not been seen in shed or garden.
It is like a slightly larger subbistrigella but with more white blotches/streaks around the costal areas and feeds on Rosebay.
There are not any good stands of rosebay nearby but I will continue to check the multitudes of subbistrigella from the old shed....
Pictures below from www.lepiforum.de
An excellent German site for moth ID ... highly recommended.

Mompha epilobiella

Mompha sturnipennella