April's butterfly and moth sightings

April in Newhaven was a poor month for moths and butterflies. I operated my moth trap on 22 nights out of 30 during the month. Forty four species were recorded; a total of 304 moths and butterflies were seen. 

For comparison, my personal ten year average in April is sixty three species and 619 sightings of individuals. Almost all species in April 2016 were seen in numbers below their ten year average, with the exceptions of Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) and Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa), which were both slightly above average but still only seen in low numbers (24 and 10 respectively). Butterflies were also below average in number, with only Peacock (Aglais io) being seen in something approaching good numbers with 58 individuals counted (43 of which were seen in one day at Well Bottom near Tarring Neville).

April saw the start of the 2016 transect-walking season at Newhaven's Castle Hill Local Nature Reserve. This, too, has been slow - the slowest start of all the six years that the walk has been performed.

The highlight of the month was the chance finding of a single Phyllonorycter rajella on the inside of my office window in Lewes on 14th. This appears to have been the first Lewes record since before 1849 and the first adult seen anywhere in Sussex since 1984 - 32 years ago.

Another highlight was a single Acleris cristana form fulvovittana, which was attracted to my garden on the night of 11th.

Species summary, April 2016 (44 species) (all adults unless stated below)

125W Robinson trap at home (29 species)

Case-bearing Clothes Moth (Tinea pellionella)  1
Common Slender (Caloptilia syringella)  1
White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella)  2
Sulphur Tubic (Esperia sulphurella)  1
Common Flat-body (Agonopterix heracliana)  1
Ruddy Flat-body (Agonopterix subpropinquella)  1
Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana)  24
Tufted Button (Acleris cristana f. fulvovittana)  1 - new site record
Twenty-plume Moth (Alucita hexadactyla)  1
Narrow-winged Grey (Eudonia angustea)  2
Common Plume (Emmelina monodactyla)  6
Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia)  1
Frosted Green (Polyploca ridens)  1
Streamer (Anticlea derivata)  2
Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)  14
Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria)  1
Puss Moth (Cerura vinula)  1
Dark Sword-grass (Agrotis ipsilon)  1
Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta)  1
Small Quaker (Orthosia cruda)  3
Powdered Quaker (Orthosia gracilis)  1
Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi)  28
Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta)  5
Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica)  53
Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta)  1
Mullein (Shargacucullia verbasci)  1
Early Grey (Xylocampa areola)  24
Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa)  10
Silver Y (Autographa gamma)  3

Fieldwork (15 species)

New Holm Oak Pigmy (Ectoedemia heringella)  mines on Evergreen (Holm) Oak (Quercus ilex)
Green Long-horn (Adela reaumurella)  1
Garden Midget (Phyllonorycter messaniella) mines on Evergreen (Holm) Oak (Quercus ilex)
Firethorn Leaf Miner (Phyllonorycter leucographella)  0
Common Alder Midget (Phyllonorycter rajella)  1
Fox Moth (Macrothylacia rubi)  2 dead larvae
Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria)  1
Common Heath (Ematurga atomaria)  2
Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines)  1
Small White (Pieris rapae)  8
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)  7
Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)  7
Peacock (Aglais io) 58
Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)  21
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)  2

Phyllonorycter rajella (Common Alder Midget)

Esperia sulphurella (Sulphur Midget)

Tufted Button (Acleris cristana f. fulvovittana)

Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) at Well Bottom

Frosted Green (Polyploca ridens

Puss Moth (Cerura vinula)

March in the moth trap

I ran my moth trap on 21 nights during March, slightly up on the average number of nights over the last ten years, which is 17 nights.

Despite starting the month with some wild weather and enduring the ferocity of Storm Katie on the night of 27th, the nights during March were generally quiet and chilly, with a mainly northerly flow to the weather. This is the probable reason for the slightly depressed numbers of moths recorded. March, like the first two months of the year, can be painfully slow on the relatively treeless parts of the Downs where I operate my trap. Species and numbers seen were both below their ten-year averages, with the exception of the March Orthosia stalwarts Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi) and Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica), which were about a third higher than usual, but still very low in number compared with many more wooded locations. Early Grey numbers were low, despite an exceptionally early record I made on 4th February, and began to appear only during the final week of the month, which suggests a late emergence locally, along with the two Orthosia species Small Quaker and Powdered Quaker, both of which were absent during the month.

There was a similar pattern to the butterfly sightings, with numbers only starting to improve towards the end of the month as the sunlight strengthened and the winds became milder and lesser in strength. Most Small Tortoiseshells were seen basking around rabbit holes, as is the March norm, but they were beginning to wander on the wing during the last two days of the month. With warmer temperatures forecast next week, we should all see a welcome increase in numbers and species.

Ectoedemia heringella (New Holm Oak Pigmy) dominated my fieldwork efforts. This Nationally Scarce species has now been recorded in 59 locations in Newhaven, Peacehaven, Seaford, Lewes and the villages between.

There was a bonus record of the willowherb-feeding Mompha epilobiella, which was seen during a visit to Charleston Farmhouse within one of the bedrooms. At first sight I thought I was witness to the destruction of the natural fibres making up the fabrics and other textiles on display at the house, but relief came with a closer look - so hold off with the pheromone traps!

Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica)

Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi)

Early Grey (Xylocampa areola)

Species summary, March 2016
32 species recorded (10-year average is 25), 150 individual moths and butterflies (10-year average is 186).

125W Robinson trap at home (17 species)
Parsnip Moth (Depressaria heraclei)  2
Common Flat-body (Agonopterix heracliana)  6
Brown-spot Flat-body (Agonopterix alstromeriana)  1
White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella)  1
Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 6
Common Plume (Emmelina monodactyla)  6
March Moth (Alsophila aescularia)  2
Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)  1
Oak Beauty (Biston strataria)  4
Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi)  41
Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta)  2
Twin-spotted Quaker (Orthosia munda)  2
Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica)  40
Early Grey (Xylocampa areola)  3
Chestnut (Conistra vaccinii)  1
Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa)  2
Silver Y (Autographa gamma)  2

Other garden obs at home (5 species)
Small White (Pieris rapae)  1
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)  2
Peacock (Aglais io)  1
Oak Eggar (Lasiocampa quercus)  2 larvae
Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba)  2 larvae


Fieldwork (12 species)
New Holm-oak Pigmy (Ectoedemia heringella)  mines
Golden Pigmy (Stigmella aurella)  mines
Holm-oak Pigmy (Stigmella suberivora)  mines
Bordered Carl (Catoptriche marginea)  mines
Brown Oak Slender (Acrocercops brongniardella)  1 mine
Garden Midget (Phyllonorycter messaniella) mines
Common Flat-body (Agonopterix heracliana)  1
Common Cosmet (Mompha epilobiella)  1 - seen inside Charleston Farmhouse!
Bulrush Cosmet (Limnaecia phragmitella) larval feeding signs on bulrush
Peacock (Aglais io)  4
Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)  12
Comma (Polygonia c-album)  2

News from the moth trap: February 2016

Comparing and contrasting February 2016's moth sightings with those of previous years

The 125W Mercury Vapour light lit up the skies of Newhaven on only six nights during the month - and we enjoyed an additional day this leap year. The average number of nights that a trap has been run at home during February over the last ten years is nine nights. Of the six nights managed in February 2016, three returned zero counts.The ten moths of six species I recorded on the other three nights was my best return since 2012. Of those six species, two had never previously been recorded by me in February (Southern Bell and Oak Nycteoline), both of which I believe were emergent adults which had hibernated over the winter.

Away from home, the chilly weather made fieldwork difficult and I had to settle for mostly occasional sightings of larvae or larval feeding signs, but these included thousands of leaf-mines on Holm (Evergreen) Oak (Quercus ilex) trees made by Ectoedemia heringella (see my previous blog dated 27th Feb) and the chance discovery of hundreds of bulrush heads showing the characteristic feeding signs of Limnaecia phragmitella.

I had never recorded in February either of the adult species that I saw during the month (White-shouldered House-moth and Mottled Grey). The two Mottled Grey sightings I made, at Itford Hill, have been confirmed as the earliest records ever made in Sussex. This is probably because the first half of the winter was much warmer than average. The larvae would have been able to continue feeding longer than usual and consequently pupate much sooner. Climate change appears to be affecting many species in this way, but this can be precarious because sudden and extreme changes in weather can wreak havoc on some colonies and many species need to time their emergence as adults with other things such as nectar sources or plant growing seasons, along with changes in day length. If a habitat's phenology is thrown out of balance by environmental stressors such as climate change, what might at first appear to be an exciting observation could be a cause for concern.

Mottled Grey (Colostygia multistrigaria)

Bulrush Cosmet (Limnaecia phragmitella) larval feeding signs on bulrush

The tunnel survey made at Newhaven Fort on 2nd February has already been discussed in my blog post dated 9th February.


Here's the full list for the month:

Species summary, February 2016 (total of 22 species) (all adults unless stated)

125W Robinson trap at home (5 species)
0998  Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana)  6
1157  Southern Bell (Crocidosema plebejana)  1
2190  Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica) 1
2243  Early Grey (Xylocampa areola)  1
2423  Oak Nycteoline (Nycteola revayana)  1

Other garden observations at home (1 species)
0240  Case-bearing Clothes Moth (Tinea pellionella)  1

Fieldwork (16 species)
0036a New Holm Oak Pigmy (Ectoedemia heringella) mines - see blog dated 27th February
0648  White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella)  1
0898  Bulrush Cosmet (Limnaecia phragmitella) larval feeding signs on bulrush
1775  Mottled Grey (Colostygia multistrigaria)  2
2134  Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa)  1 larva
2306  Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa)  2 larvae

Newhaven Fort tunnel survey of hibernating species (02/02/16) - see blog dated 9th Feb
0472  Fleabane Smudge (Digitivalva pulicariae)  6
0476  Bittersweet Smudge (Acrolepia autumnitella)  1
0672  Parsnip Moth (Depressaria heraclei)  1
0688  Common Flat-body (Agonopterix heracliana)  3
0689  Large Carrot Flat-body (Agonopterix ciliella)  1
1288  Twenty-plume Moth (Alucita hexadactyla)  28
2469  Herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix)  4
2478  Bloxworth Snout (Hypena obsitalis)  7
59.026  Peacock (Aglais io)  14
59.027  Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)  7

Halcombe Farm, Piddinghoe - final fieldtrip of the season

Cochylis molliculana (the Ox-tongue Conch) is a relatively new species in Sussex - we saw two on the night

Last Friday night was my final field-trip of the season. My good friend Dave Harris has been carrying out daytime surveys for a few years at Halcombe Farm, which is an area of chalk grassland on the north eastern edge of Peacehaven, close to Piddinghoe. The farm is less active now than it was in the past, but it is clearly an historical area and the 17th-century farmhouse, one of several historic buildings in the area, is testament to this.

Valley Road, which runs eastwards from north Peacehaven until it meets the C7 Lewes to Newhaven road, traces the line of one of the many dry valleys which cut through the Sussex chalk downs. The alluvial silts which line these valleys provide a narrow ribbon of lower pH habitat for some species which are not otherwise present on the chalk. The Common Heath (Ematurga atomaria) moth is a good example. When Dave approached me with an opportunity to run some light traps on the private land there, I was really happy to accept his offer.

Three of us - Dave, my mate Jim McHugh and I - arrived at 7pm and we received a friendly welcome from the landowner Colin Appleton and his son Paul. We selected an elevated spot on the northern bank of the dry valley and carried the gear up to a convenient plateau (it is best to avoid valley bottoms in September because the cold air collects and stills the moths). The equipment we used was a 125W mercury vapour light and twin 30W actinic light, both set on Robinson traps.

We ran the traps from 7.45pm until half past midnight. Tawny and Barn owls made their presence known and, as the sky cleared, the expected fog rolled in. We ate chocolate, enjoyed good conversation, stood with the bright light to our backs and made glorious Brocken Spectres against the sky. We also saw some good moth species.

There were more moths than expected - double the number that we saw the previous week just to the south at the Valley Ponds in Newhaven. Thirty nine species and 122 moths made up the list as follows:

Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago)

Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella)  1

Long-horned flat-body (Carcina quercana)  4

Parsnip Moth (Depressaria heraclei)  3

Ruddy Flat-body (Agonopterix subpropinquella)  1

London Dowd (Blastobasis lacticolella)  1

Ox-tongue Conch (Cochylis molliculana)  2

Carnation Tortrix (Cacoecimorpha pronubana)  1

Privet Twist (Clepsis consimilana)  3

Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana)  3

Common Plume (Emmelina monodactyla)  1

Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata)  1

Pretty Chalk Carpet (Melanthia procellata)  1

Lesser Treble-bar (Aplocera efformata)  1

Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)  9

Canary-shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria)  2

Dusky Thorn (Ennomos fuscantaria)  4

Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria)  7

Light Emerald (Campaea margaritata)  3

Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta)  2

Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba)  5

Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes)  3

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua fimbriata) 1

Small Square-spot (Diarsia rubi)  1

Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum)  10

Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa)  16

Clay (Mythimna ferrago)  1

White-point (Mythimna albipuncta)  1

Common Wainscot (Mythimna pallens)  5

L-album Wainscot (Mythimna l-album)  1

Green-brindled Crescent (Allophyes oxyacanthae)  1

Brick (Agrochola circellaris)  1

Lunar Underwing (Omphaloscelis lunosa)  9

Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago)  1

Marbled Green (Cryphia muralis)  1

Flounced Rustic (Luperina testacea)  1

Rosy Rustic (Hydraecia micacea)  1

Frosted Orange (Gortyna flavago)  2

Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis)  3

Snout (Hypena proboscidalis)  8

Other insects seen: Orange Ladybird (Halyzia sedecimguttata)  1

Tarnished Plantbug (Lygus rugulipennis)  1

Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)  1

 

Cacoecimorpha pronubana - the Carnation Tortrix

An enjoyable night at Valley Ponds, Newhaven

On Friday 19th my Lewes District Council colleague (Dan Fagan) and I put on a moth survey for local residents of the Valley Ponds open space in Newhaven and to begin recording some of the species which are present around the ponds and gardens. This is a lovely little reserve and, I think, a perfect example of the archetypal open space: surrounded by, visited by and valued by lots of local residents.

Brimstone Moth

Rhomboid Tortrix

Willow Beauty

We ran two light traps from 7.45pm until 11.15pm. It was a beautiful clear, calm and warm night and an electrical storm somewhere off to the east provided additional interest. A really pleasing number of people (maybe 40 to 50) joined us to see which species were on the wing. Some good friends from the Castle Hill nature reserve also joined us. It was a pleasure to spend a few hours with such a friendly bunch and to see such enthusiasm in the many children who wowed at the moths as they flew in. This makes the effort worthwhile and I would happily visit again in the future.

 
The moths regrettably didn't exceed the number of people by very many (29 species, 59 individuals), but the very last moth of the night proved to be a nationally scarce species: the Scarce Water-veneer. Here is a list of what we saw:

Apple Leaf Skeletoniser (Choreutis pariana) 1
Dingy Dowd (Blastobasis adustella) 1
Garden cosmet (Mompha subbistrigella) 1
Privet Twist (Clepsis consimilana) 2
Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 5
Red-barred Tortrix (Ditula angustiorana) 1
Rhomboid Tortrix (Acleris rhombana) 1
Smoky-barred Marble (Lobesia abscisana) 2
Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella) 1
Scarce Water-veneer (Donacaula mucronellus) 1
Narrow-winged Grey (Eudonia angustea) 2
Wax Moth (Galleria mellonella) 1
Common Plume (Emmelina monodactyla) 2
Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata) 1
Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) 5
Dusky Thorn (Ennomos fuscantaria) 3
Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria) 1
Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis) 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta) 1
Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) 2
Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes) 2
Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) 3
Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa) 12
Common Wainscot (Mythimna pallens) 1
L-album Wainscot (Mythimna l-album) 1
Centre-barred Sallow (Atethmia centrago) 1
Lunar Underwing (Omphaloscelis lunosa) 2
Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis) 1
Snout (Hypena proboscidalis) 1

The late and highly respected lepidopterist (and WW1 veteran) Guy Botwright lived very close to the Valley Ponds. He recorded moths and butterflies in this area (and farther afield) for decades until a few years before his passing at 102 years of age in 2000. The rich legacy of amateurs such as Guy cannot be overestimated and, for me, this added an additional layer of interest to our little list compiled on Friday night. I hope the locals are inspired to continue where Guy left off and I hope Dan and I have provided a helping hand...

Common Wainscot

The Snout

Lunar Underwing

Latest from the moth trap

The first week of 2013 has proved to be unusual in that the weather has been good enough to operate my garden moth trap on each night so far. I've never managed this in any of the previous years that I have been recording moths. So far, so good.

Only a few moths have been recorded and, to be honest, the diversity of species has been a little disappointing with only four seen in total. To compare it with the peak season during mid- to late-summer, I would expect 60+ species and 300+ moths.

Here's what I have recorded (photos of all species can be found at the UK Moths website: http://ukmoths.org.uk/):

Thursday 3rd: Epiphyas postvittana (Light Brown Apple Moth), Amblyptilia acanthadactyla (Beautiful Plume) - this is the earliest date it has been recorded in Sussex, although an Eastbourne-based recorder also recorded one on the same night.

Friday 4th: Epiphyas postvittana (Light Brown Apple Moth) (2), Conistra ligula (Dark Chestnut).

Sunday 6th: Conistra vaccinii (The Chestnut).

Monday 7th: Epiphyas postvittana (Light Brown Apple Moth), Conistra vaccinii (The Chestnut), Conistra ligula (Dark Chestnut).

The Chestnut Conistra vaccinii

The Chestnut Conistra vaccinii

Dark Chestnut Conistra ligula