270 Ectropis crepuscularia (Engrailed)

70.270 Ectropis crepuscularia (Engrailed)

fw: 15-22mm; bivoltine or trivoltine in south Mar-May, Jun-Aug, Sep-Oct, univoltine in north Apr-Jun; various trees and shrubs; common in broadleaved woodland in England, Wales and lowland Scotland.

British literature has recognised Small Engrailed as a separate species with the binomial E.crepuscularia, with Engrailed as E.bistortata. In Europe Small Engrailed is not recognised as a distinct species and the 'two' cannot be distinguished by wing markings or genitalia. The new RES British checklist (2013) retains Small Engrailed as a separate species, albeit without a binomial (Ectropis sp.) and gives it number 70.271. I propose to only recognise the one species. This proposal was adopted by the authors of the RES checklist in the 5th update, January 2022. 70.271 is now vacant.

Ectropis crepuscularia (Engrailed) §2

ID: A pair of darts distal to the postmedian line distinguish this from similar species.

Variation
Dissection
Male genitalia
Female genitalia

§1 Foulness, Essex; 24/06/2007
§2 Foulness, Essex; 13/03/2011
§3 Hatfield Heath, Hertfordshire; 22/03/2012
§4 Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk; 28/07/2012
§5 Compton Bishop, Somerset; 27/08/2014; male; fw 16.4mm
§6 Foulness, Essex; 01/08/2015; male; fw 17.7mm; to light
§7 Braemar, Aberdeenshire; 09/05/2016; male; fw 20.3mm
§8 Burnbanks, Cumbria; 19/03/2024; male; fw 18.9mm
§9 ??; ??/??/2023; male; fw 17.5mm
§10 Glen Lochy, Perthshire; 07/04/2025; male
§11 Glen Lochy, Perthshire; 08/04/2025; male
All images © Chris Lewis