THORPE MARSH: Toadflax Brocade caterpillars & insect highlights

Mid July 2021

Thorpe Marsh is the more neglected bits of my patch, so I made an effort to visit this month. Before going onto the marsh I walked around some of the local residential streets to check out areas of Purple Toadflax. My target was caterpillars of the recent colonist Toadflax Brocade moth (https://www.norfolkmoths.co.uk/index.php?bf=22230). These larvae were first recorded in Norfolk in 2019, and so far have not turned up in my own garden, but I was pleasantly surprised to find them on the second patch of plants I checked.

 I then spent a couple of hours walking around Thorpe Marshes. Little Egret was the pick of the birds, but I did find an overdue target species, Red Marsh Ladybird (Coccidula rufa). This species has been recorded here before, but I also hope at some point to find the other wetland Coccidula species here. At the Bungalow Lane end I found a new bug for me, Salicarus roseri, and a bit further along there were some Caliroa cinxia larva stripping the underside of an Oak leaf.