OPOSTEGIDAE
Very small, pale-coloured moths which fly in the late afternoon and at dusk
but are otherwise seldom seen. Their life-histories are unknown. Of the four
British species, three have been recorded from Essex, but only one in recent
years. One of the three has not been observed for over a century and may well
be extinct in Britain.
Opostega salaciella (Treits.) Res., (1903)-1980. Possibly Rumex acetosella. Loc. and r.
VC 18. 39 Chingford (PH); 69 *Brentwood (VCH). VC 19. 41 Little Hallingbury (RWJU); 60
Writtle A.C.; 81 Wickham Bishops (GCD).
O. crepusculella Zell. NRR, 1856.
VC 18.48 Wanstead Flats, 23 August 1856 (Miller, 1857); Tutt, 1902:83 probably refers to the
same record.
O. spatulella H.-S. NRR, 1859-1877, since when it has not been recorded in Britain.
VC 18.88 *Southend: "Mr H. Tompkins took four specimens of this insect at Southend in Essex
in the middle of August among mixed herbage" (Stainton, 1860a). VC 19.81 Witham, June and
September, 1876 and 1877; the moths were so common that Cansdale sent his ten-year-old son
out to catch them (Cansdale, 1877-1878a).
TISCHERIIDAE
Small, rather plain-coloured moths whose larvae make opaque blotches in
the leaves of trees and bushes; unlike most other leaf-miners, they eject their
trass from their mines. Essex is the only county from which all five British
species have been recorded.
Tischeria ekebladella (Bjerk.) Res., 1866-1980. Quercus spp. Wdspd and v.c. 49 *High Beach
(Boyd diary).
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