On 13 August 2018, I took an unfamiliar micro-moth in a light-trap at Tramore, Co. Waterford (grid reference S577013). It was identified using the Field Guide to the Micromoths of Great Britain and Ireland as Apodia bifractella and is new to Ireland. The specimen was sent to Ken Bond who confirmed the identification. It will be lodged with the National Museum of Ireland, Natural History, Dublin.
The larva of A. bifractella feeds from mid-August to April in the seeds of Common Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica), Ploughman’s-spikenard (Inula conyzae) or Sea Aster (Aster tripolium), pupating from April to June, with the adults emerging during July and August. Due to the distribution of its foodplants, A. bifractella frequents a wide range of habitats including damp meadows, ditches, fens, marshes, saltmarshes, woodland rides and coastal landslips. It is found across Europe and North Africa, is widespread is southern England and is also found in N.W. England and N. Wales.
Tony Bryant
Bryant, T., 2018. Apodia bifractella (Duponchel, [1843]) (Lep.: Gelechiidae) new to Ireland. Entomologist’s Record & of Journal of Variation 130: 268.