Red-barred Pollen Moth Micropterix tunburgella

Originally given the vernacular name Red-barred Gold.

I think this species is more often encountered during the day, but on the night I found my first a friend also caught four at light in the Brecks.

I had turned all my lights off, emptied all the traps and nearly finished packing up. As I was putting the last trap back in the car I saw two insects land in it, presumably attracted to the white plastic of the trap lit by my headtorch. One was a fly and the other was this beautiful little moth, a species I had long wanted to find.

Red-barred Pollen Moth Eriocrania unimaculella, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 1st May 2025