Phlyctaenia coronata. No, I hadn't heard of it either! But there is was in my garden, by the light of the torch, supping away at my Hemp Agrimony flowers.
Fortunately, a gentleman called Jim Porter recently decided to give all the micromoth species found in the UK a vernacular name to complement the Latin name, and so - if you want to - you can now call Phlyctaenia coronata by the rather more accessible name of 'Elder Pearl'.
It turns out that the caterpillars of the Elder Pearl feed on young Elder leaves. I've also found out that an August record is quite late - it is usually seen in June and July. And it also seems to be quite widespread in the country, so if you have Elder growing nearby, this little chap could well be in your flower bed.
It's amazing to think that so many of our smaller creatures have long been known about by the experts. The Elder Pearl, for example, was first classified in 1767 by a man called Hufnagel. And 243 years on, there it is, happily living out its existence in my neighbourhood, and yet I'd never seen it and I expect that no-one else in my street has ever noticed it either.
It's when I see things like this that I wonder what other secrets my garden might hold.
If you want to drop by my RSPB wildlife gardening blog, it is updated every Friday, and I'd love to see you there - www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/hfw
Adrian Thomas praises Jim Porter's list of "coined" common names for British Lepidoptera in his note dated 16th August. But back in 1945 I.R.P.Heslop did a similar thing for all the species of Lepidiptera known by him to be British at that time. But most of the Heslop common names are not the same as those "coined" by Jim Porter.
I accept that some people prefer common names rather than scientific names, but it is a mystery to me why Heslop's names did not find favour among lepidopterists, as they are no worse than those more recently coined by Jim Porter. In my view Jim Porter fails to justify his decision to override the Heslop names.
John L. Gregory