A. yeatiana (Fabr.) Res., 1896-1974. Daucus. Loc. and rather r.
VC 18. 78 Benfleet (Whittle, 1899a); 88 *Southend (Whittle, 1897a); 80 Hazeleigh (VCH); 98
Wakering; Shoeburyness (FGW). VC 19.53 Saffron Walden (AME).
ETHMIIDAE
Medium-sized or large moths, some of which are brightly coloured or have a
conspicuous black and white pattern. The larvae feed mainly on Boraginaceae
under a web and are also brightly coloured. Two of the six British re-
presentatives are believed to be extinct. In Essex the family is represented by a
single vagrant specimen of one species; however, two others which are resident
in Cambridgeshire could occur.
Ethmia bipunctella (Fabr.) Vag., 1955. Echium vulgare, which is r. and decreasing in Essex
(Jermyn, 1974: 135).
VC 18. 90 Bradwell-on-Sea, one at m.v. light (AJD). This may have been a wanderer from
Dungeness, Kent where it is resident.
GELECHIIDAE
A very large family of small or medium-sized moths. Almost all are
crepuscular or nocturnal and are seldom seen by day. The forewing is usually
grey, brown or fuscous with a pale angulated fascia or pair of spots beyond the
middle; bright colours are rare. The broad hindwing has a characteristic shape
with the apex produced, like a clenched fist with the index finger pointing
outwards. The larval habits are varied; most feed on herbaceous plants but a
few are to be found on trees, in moss or even in stored products. Many species
feed in spun leaves; others mine leaves, stems, roots or seedheads; one species
even constructs a portable case like a Coleophorid. Only 100 of the 150 British
species have been recorded in Essex, a lower percentage than in other major
families. This is because of neglect. Most species are under-recorded and there
is an undue proportion of old records which have not been brought up to date.
The family probably offers more scope for serious study than any other, not
only in Essex, but in Britain as a whole. The last two species belong to a
different subfamily, the Symmocinae; the hindwing lacks the produced apex of
the Gelechiinae.
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