Dark Pine Shoot Moth Pseudococcyx posticana

An earlier attempt to assign vernacular names to micro moths named this one simply Dark Pine Shoot.

This is a Nationally Scarce moth but has been recorded more often in Norfolk in recent years. 2025 is a record year with six records (in addition this one) reported so far (per Norfolk Moths website).

This was found in my garden moth trap. I was fairly confident about the ID from its external appearance but as it was fairly worn I thought it was prudent to check its genitalia. The ostium was visible after clearing before dissecting it, which was enough to rule out most if not all the similar species - but I did complete the dissection (badly) to view the other characters too.

female Dark Pine Shoot Moth Pseudococcyx posticana showing gentalia, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 24th May 2025