144 Denticucullus pygmina (Small Wainscot)

73.144 Denticucullus pygmina (Small Wainscot)

fw: 10-14mm (Waring & Townsend), ws: 22-25mm (MBGBI10); Aug-Sep; sedges (Caraceae), grasses (Poaceae); common throughout GB.
Synonym: Photodes pygmina (MBGBI10), Chortodes pygmina (Waring & Townsend)

Denticucullus pygmina (Small Wainscot) §2 male

ID: Forewing ground colour ranges from pale straw through pinkish-brown and ferruginous-brown to smoky brown; diffuse blackish central streak from base which fans towards the termen; variable dusting with grey; usually with a curved post-median line of small blackish dots; hindwing grey with a whitish fringe. Antenna: male - fasciculate, female - simple. Coenobia rufa (Small Rufous) is similar in size and range of colour and markings but has a narrow thorax and a more pointed forewing apex. Photodes extrema (Concolorous) flies May-Jul, usually lacks streaking and has a strong dotted post-median line.

Variation
Dissection
Male genitalia
Female genitalia

§1 Aberfoyle, Perthshire; 21/08/2008; fw 11.3mm
§2 Foulness, Essex; 06/09/2008; male; fw 11.3
§3 Foulness, Essex; 08/08/2009; male; fw 10.7
§4 Foulness, Essex; 31/07/2010; male; fw 11.7
§5 Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk; male; 07/10/2010
§6 Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk; 18/10/2011; male; fw 14.0mm
§7 Foulness, Essex; 15/09/2012; male
§8 Foulness, Essex; 16/08/2014; male; fw 10.4
§9 Foulness, Essex; 30/08/2014
All images © Chris Lewis

§10 Arrochar, Argyll; 05/09/2014; female; fw 10.6mm
§11 St Marys, Isles of Scilly; 19/10/2015; male
§12 Dalmunzie (Glenshee), Perthshire; 28/08/2016; male; fw 10.8mm
§13 Muir of Dinnet, Abderdeenshire; female; 22/09/2019; female; fw 9.8mm

Page published 10/03/2016 (§1-11) | §12 added 04/01/2017 | §13 added 18/12/2019