Morley’s Final Catalogue: Of frequent occurrence in swamps everywhere from Bentley to Shipmeadow; sometimes at Monks Soham light; especially abundant in Blythburgh Wood, among rushes.

Recent Status: A common species in Suffolk.

Life Style: A double brooded night flying species that comes to light. It can be found throughout the summer. The larvae feed in the stems of Juncus species, Schoenoplectus lacustris, Trichophorum cespitosum, Eriophorum angustifolium and Cyperus longus. They pupate in the last larval feeding habitation.

Identification: Bactra are a narrow winged Olethreutinae with pointed wings. The females are predominantly dark from the base to a little below the apex with a paler costa. The dark shading may become a red brown and lighter towards the dorsum and tornus. They may show some of the traits of the males but can seldom be reliably identified without genitalia dissection. The males of Bactra species show a dark hooked mark centrally at two thirds. They may also show a reticulation, dark longitudinal lines, costal strigulae, spots on the termen and even marks in the ocellus. B. furfurana is the most readily recognised as it also has a further two prominent dark marks on the wing. B. lacteana has two parallel short streaks just short of the costa and of the apex. B. robustana is a coastal species and the largest Bactra. It has numerous short costal strigulae that do not become significantly more widely separated as they close in on the apex as they do for B. lancealana. B. lancealana is the commonest species. When these differences are not clear in a specimen then identification is by genitalia dissection. More Info

Recorded in 32 (55%) of 58 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1987. Last Recorded in 2020. Additional Stats

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