Coastal Detritus Moth Monopis imella
Laura King caught this moth in her Lower Hellesdon garden and got in touch with me to see if I agreed it was Monopis imella. I did, but recommended that it be dissected to confirm as this would be the first vice-county (VC27) record, and the first anywhere in Norfolk since 1990. From her photos it looked spot on, but for a significant record like this it's worth removing any possible doubt.
Upon receiving the specimen I initially became even more sure that it was imella, but when I measured it a small element of doubt crept in - it had a forewing length of virtually 7mm. That would puts its wingspan at over 14mm but imella is supposed to have a wingspan of 11-14mm, so this was big if it was imella. The genitalia quickly eliminated any doubt, being quite significantly different from other fairly similar Monopis species like obviella and crocicapitella.
The first two photos below (of the live moth) are Laura's.
, Lower Hellesdon, 26-Sep-23 LK (A) (11).jpg)
, Lower Hellesdon, 26-Sep-23 LK (A) (10).jpg)
, Lower Hellesdon, 26-Sep-23 (A) (3).jpg)
, Lower Hellesdon, 26-Sep-23 (A) (1).jpg)
, Lower Hellesdon, 26-Sep-23 (A) (2).jpg)
, Lower Hellesdon, 26-Sep-23 (A) (4).jpg)
, Lower Hellesdon, 26-Sep-23 (A) (6).jpg)
, Lower Hellesdon, 26-Sep-23 (A) (7).jpg)
, Lower Hellesdon, 26-Sep-23 (A) (8).jpg)
, Lower Hellesdon, 26-Sep-23 (A) (9).jpg)
Coastal Detritus Moth Monopis imella showing close-ups of the pale discal spots and the genitalia, Lower Hellesdon (Norfolk, UK), 26th September 2023 (trapped by Laura King and photos of live insect are by Laura)