Ceraclea senilis

Recorded in most of the main river valleys in Norfolk, but for some reason not in the Wensum so far as I can see (except these).

This showed the indentation on the sides of the subgenital plate that's arrowed in the diagram in Barnard & Ross but the prominent dark triangle at the centre tip of the plate, and the rounded blob behind this, are not clearly shown in the diagram in Barnard & Ross. However they do match the photos at trichoptera.senckenberg.de so this gave me more confidence with the ID. But the upper projection evident in the side view, which is also prominent and seen to be bifurcated in dorsal view, is not evident in the photos there, which caused me to question the ID. Everything else looked right, and no other species showed this combination of characters, but for a species not normally found in the Wensum catchment I wanted a bit more certainty. I turned to the Hans Malicky Atlas of European Trichoptera and sure enough this is shown in the diagrams there. A relief, not least because it finally justified the hefty investment in purchasing that tome!

female Ceraclea senilis showing abdomen tip (ventral, side and dorsal views), Wendling Beck Project (Norfolk, UK), 11th June 2023

I recorded two more at light in another meadow just over a mile away from the one above.

female Ceraclea senilis showing abdomen tip (ventral, side and dorsal views), Wendling Beck Project (Norfolk, UK), 21st May 2026

Note that the appearance of a pale mark near where some Ceraclea species have a pale pre-tornal spot is wear - it's slight in from the dorsum which it wouldn't be if it was the pre-tornal spot, and wasn't present on both wings.

second female Ceraclea senilis showing abdomen tip (ventral, side and dorsal views), Wendling Beck Project (Norfolk, UK), 21st May 2026