Morley’s Final Catalogue: Bentley, on aspen and bred in 1930-5. A perfectly good species, sec. Pierce, confirming its distinct appearance from the last (Whittingham).
Recent Status: The species is recorded in Suffolk.
Life Style: A single brooded species flying during July, August and September. The larvae feed on the catkins and from between spun leaves of Populus tremula. They pupate on the ground.
Identification: This species and E. nisella have been debated as either varieties or distinct species for over a century A paper in Zootaxa in 2012 however put this discussion to rest by showing them as distinct species by DNA bar coding. E. nisella can have an ochreous brown patch or shading on the dorsum or this may sometimes be black. E. cinereana does not and is a generally more white marked species. However E. nisella can also be without distinctive markings in such cases genitalia dissection is required for identification to species. This is straight-forward for females but relies on a difference in the number of deciduous cornuti in the male. When the cornuti are still present and when intermediates occur it can be difficult for the males. More Info
Determination by Genitalia Examination (gen. det.) Required
Recorded in 1 (2%) of 58 10k Squares. First Recorded in 2013. Last Recorded in 2013. Additional Stats
