Water-dropwort Brown Depressaria daucella

This species was found new to Norfolk in 2026 (see Norfolk Moths) but is common in many southern counties. Formerly given the vernacular name Dingy Flat-body.

I have been holidaying in cottages in Porthgwarra Cove for years and seeing what I took to be Parsnip Moths Depressaria radiella, mainly inside the cottages rather than coming to the moth trap. Unfortunately daucella was barely on my radar and I had no idea that it was nearly as large as radiella. This year there were several of these moths in the basement storage of the cottage, as well as the odd one coming to the moth trap and in the upstairs living accommodation. Once again I naively called them all Parsnip Moths but early in the stay potted one up so that I could make sure I wasn't overlooking something.

Unfortunately we were without wi-fi for the first half of our week there, and with no mobile reception either, there wasn't much I could do to investigate them further. It was only after getting home and reviewing my photos that I wondered if the one I had photographed could possibly be something else. ObsID was 100% sure it was daucella, which surprised me as the moth was huge, but then when I looked up daucella and realised it could be as big as radiella, I realised that I may have made a mistake. Fortunately I still had the specimen and dissected it which confirmed that it was indeed daucella.

male Water-dropwort Brown Depressaria daucella showing genitalia, Porthgwarra (Cornwall, UK), 10th October 2026

Now I've had a dozen of these over five years since 2010, so were they all daucella, or are there radiella there too? I don't have any other specimens and I can only find photos of two of them, so I can't be sure, but the two I have photos of do look like daucella I think.

probable Water-dropwort Brown Depressaria daucella, Porthgwarra (Cornwall, UK), 23rd October 2010

probable Water-dropwort Brown Depressaria daucella, Porthgwarra (Cornwall, UK), 20th November 2013