NEWSLETTER No 96 October 2013.

Transcription

1 MONMOUTHSHIRE MOTH & BUTTERFLY GROUP NEWSLETTER No 96 October A monthly newsletter covering Gwent and Monmouthshire Vice County 35 Editor: Martin Anthoney Gwent s Commonest Moths and Butterflies? The following table shows the number of records held on the Gwent database for the top twenty five species since Corresponding figures for pre-2000 records are shown for comparison. The figures clearly show how moth recording has increased since 2000, with Large Yellow Underwing overtaking Heart and Dart as the commonest moth in Gwent. Gwent Macro-Moth For 2000 Onwards Rank Name Taxon Number 1 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Heart and Dart Agrotis exclamationis Common Marbled Carpet Chloroclysta truncata Silver Y Autographa gamma Dark Arches Apamea monoglypha Buff Ermine Spilosoma luteum Willow Beauty Peribatodes rhomboidaria Small Phoenix Ecliptopera silaceata Garden Carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata Riband Wave Idaea aversata Straw Dot Rivula sericealis Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Snout Hypena proboscidalis Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes Flame Carpet Xanthorhoe designata Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Flame Axylia putris Common Rustic Mesapamea secalis Spectacle Abrostola tripartita Mottled Beauty Alcis repandata Common Carpet Epirrhoe alternata Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa Green Carpet Colostygia pectinataria 456 Pre 2000 Name Number Heart and Dart 407 Large Yellow Underwing 393 Flame Shoulder 317 Dark Arches 303 Brimstone Moth 277 Small Square-spot 266 Silver Y 233 Square-spot Rustic 215 Common Rustic 209 Smoky Wainscot 209 Flounced Rustic 209 Common Wainscot 202 Setaceous Hebrew Character 197 Common Marbled Carpet 193 Common White Wave 192 Riband Wave 191 Hebrew Character 189 Mottled Beauty 186 Ingrailed Clay 177 Peppered Moth 173 Silver-ground Carpet 164 Angle Shades 164 Bright-line Brown-eye 160 Clouded Border 156 Willow Beauty 155 Pre-2000 numbers are too small to draw profound conclusions, but it is surprising that eleven of the top twenty five species have dropped out of the table, with Small Square-spot and Smoky Wainscot the biggest losers. Buff Ermine and Small Phoenix show the largest jump in position in recent years. 1

2 The corresponding tables for butterflies are: Gwent Butterfly For 2000 Onwards Rank Name Taxon Number 1 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina Large White Pieris brassicae Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria Green-veined White Pieris napi Peacock Butterfly Inachis io Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae Common Blue Polyommatus icarus Small White Pieris rapae Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta Comma Polygonia c-album Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus Painted Lady Vanessa cardui Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris Brimstone butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni Large Skipper Ochlodes venata Marbled White Melanargia galathea Dingy Skipper Erynnis tages Holly Blue Celastrina argiolus Clouded Yellow Colias croceus Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Boloria selene Grayling Hipparchia semele 87 Pre 2000 Name Number Meadow Brown 371 Small Tortoiseshell 325 Speckled Wood 271 Large White 249 Green-veined White 243 Small White 232 Peacock butterfly 230 Gatekeeper 220 Common Blue 193 Small Skipper 184 Red Admiral 163 Orange-tip 152 Brimstone butterfly 151 Small Heath 150 Holly Blue 146 Large Skipper 140 Small Copper 128 Comma 118 Ringlet 112 Marbled White 105 Painted Lady 87 Grayling 78 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary 59 Marsh Fritillary 54 Wall Brown 44 As expected because of the smaller number of British species, changes in the list of butterflies are less pronounced. Meadow Brown is obviously the most common butterfly, with Large White catching it up. It is a pleasant surprise to see Speckled Wood maintain third position in the list. The species showing the largest jump in position is Dingy Skipper, reflecting increased suitable habitat on regenerating coal tips. Martin Anthoney Recent Highlights October continued the warm theme of the previous few months, but it was also a very wet month, limiting the number of butterflies on display and the opportunities for moth-trapping. A few migrants added variety to the moth species, with the highlights being eleven Vestals in the period 27 th Sept to 7 th Oct and the rare Pyralid Etiella zinckenella. A few Clouded Yellows and Painted Lady butterflies seem to have survived the month. 1 st Oct An immigrant Bordered Straw, plus Cypress Carpet, Cypress Pug and Large Ranunculus, to light at Melbourne Way,. Merveille du Jour and Large Ranunculus to light at Risca. (Martin Anthoney) 2

3 2 nd Oct Hibernating Buttoned Snout (first site record since 2007), 30 Herald, 2 Alucita hexadactyla moths, 20+ Small Tortoiseshell and 2 Peacock butterflies at Dingestow Court. (Sam Bosanquet) 9 mines of the micro Phyllonorycter platani found on a large Plane Tree, also at Dingestow Court. The fourth county record of this species, which was recorded new to Britain in the 1990s and has been spreading north-westwards. (Sam Bosanquet) Cypress Carpet and Large Ranunculus to light at Haisbro Avenue,. Another Cypress Carpet was caught on 5 th Oct. (Sheila Dupé) Bordered Beauty and Large Ranunculus at Wetlands Reserve. (Kevin Dupé) 4 th Oct Immigrant Vestal at Wonastow, near Monmouth. (Heather Colls) 5 th Oct Another Vestal, plus Autumn Green Carpet and Merveille du Jour, to light at Aberbargoed Grasslands NNR. (Martin Anthoney and Roger James) Two more Vestals, Cypress Carpet and Merveille du Jour at Melbourne Way,. Cypress Carpet to light at Undy (Keith Jones) Painted Lady, 17 Comma and 25 Red Admiral butterflies at Caerwent Quarry. Painted Lady among eight butterfly species at Penallt. (Ian Rabjohns) 6 th Oct Humming-bird Hawk moth flying in a Chepstow garden. Seen again on 7 th Oct. Vestal number seven of the autumn at Gaer Fort,. (Kevin Dupé) L-album Wainscot and Vestal, both immigrants, plus Figure of Eight among twenty species to light at Portskewett. (Richard Clarke, Kevin Dupé and Sheila Dupé) 3 Clouded Yellow and 10 Small Copper at Solutia Reserve,. The Vestal 3

4 7 th Oct A specimen of the very rare migrant Pyralid, Etiella zinckenella, to light at Chepstow. Only the thirteenth British specimen and probably the first one for Wales. The fourteenth British specimen was reported at Portland, on the south coast of England, on the 9 th Oct. Also in the same Chepstow trap were Vestal, Cypress Carpet and Beautiful Hook-tip (all new site records). Vestal number ten at Haisbro Avenue,. Vestal number eleven at Bassaleg. (Sheila Dupé) (Andrina Whitfield) Etiella zinckenella 9 th Oct Feathered Ranunculus at Chepstow. Much less common in the county than its Large relative, this is only the sixteenth Gwent record. Painted Lady, 15 Small White and 7 Red Admiral, amongst others, at Portskewett. 10 th Oct Clouded Yellow, Red Admiral and Small Copper at Wetlands. (Kevin Dupé) 17 th Oct Autumn Green Carpet, Cypress Carpet and Beautiful Hook-tip at Haisbro Avenue,. (Sheila Dupé) 2 Painted Lady at Wetlands. (Kevin Dupé) Seventh county record of the micro Blastobasis lacticolella at Chepstow. Blastobasis lacticolella 4

5 18 th Oct Blair s Shoulder-knot at Oakfield Road, Cwmbran. A new site record for a species which is rapidly infilling gaps in its county distribution. (Bob Roome) Red Sword-grass to light at Melbourne Way,. Red Sword-grass 19 th Oct Satellite and Mottled Umber among eight species trapped at Llantarnam Abbey. (Bob Roome) 22 nd Oct Grey Shoulder-knot, Brick and Flounced Chestnut at Risca. (Martin Anthoney) 25 th Oct Red Sword-grass to light at Rassau. (Rodney Morris) 26 th Oct Streak, Pale November Moth and Feathered Thorn at Risca. (Martin Anthoney) Pale November Moth and Mottled Umber at Melbourne Way,. 31 st Oct The first December Moth of the year to light at Risca. (Martin Anthoney) Gwent Distribution Maps Accompanying this newsletter is a file containing the eighth batch of distribution maps for Gwent macro moths. Plotted on a 2km basis, black squares indicate records for 2000 to 2012, whereas open squares indicate sites where pre-2000 records exist but no post-2000 records. Historical records which were too vague to be assigned at the 2km level have been omitted. Three more batches remain to complete the set. I have been limited in the size of each batch as some people have fallen foul of the file size limit imposed by their Internet Service Provider. To overcome this, I will send out two more batches, without a newsletter, in a week or so, with the final batch distributed in December with the last newsletter of Martin Anthoney 5

6 Dates for your Diary 2014 Sunday 26th January Saturday 22 nd February Sunday 9 th March Thurs 3 rd Sat 5 th July Habitat management in Blackrock Quarry, Clydach Work task at Blackrock Quarry, Clydach, in conjunction with Usk Conservation and Environment Group, clearing cotoneaster from this important lepidoptera site with superb views. Tools provided, but bring lunch, drinks etc. Meet at 10am at the lay-by adjacent to the old lime kilns (SO215125). [ Head east along the A465 Heads of the Valleys road from the Brynmawr roundabout. After 1½ miles take the left turn for Clydach Village. Continue along Main Road through Clydach village and the layby is then on your right.] Joint Gwent / Glamorgan Recorders Forum. In celebration of SEWBReC s tenth anniversary. Details will be announced soon. Contact <elaine.wright@sewbrec.org.uk> if you wish to attend. Work task at Hendre Woods, near Monmouth. Meet at Old Lodge entrance at Hendre Woods (S ), on the B4233 Rockfield Road from Monmouth, at 11:00-15:00. Bring lunch, warm drinks, appropriate clothing, footwear and hand tools. The task will be clearing cut rideside vegetation to encourage germination of Wood Spurge, larval foodplant of Drab Looper. Contact: Martin Anthoney, National Moth Night. Moth trapping events will be organised in due course. We are hopeful one of the events will be at MoD Caerwent. MMBG Contact Names and Addresses. Secretary: Kevin Dupé Chairman: Roger James 44 Gaer Park Lane 44 Melbourne Way NP20 3NE NP20 3RF Phone Phone the.dupes@virginmedia.com Treasurer: Sheila Dupé 18 Haisbro Avenue NP19 7HY Phone smallranunculus@btinternet.com or in case of problems julia.james@btinternet.com Newsletter Editor & Recorder for Recorder for Micro Moths Butterflies & Macro Moths Sam Bosanquet Martin Anthoney c\o Dingestow Court 23 Malvern Close Monmouth Risca Monmouthshire NP25 4DY NP11 6QY Phone sambbryo@aol.com martin@chemlep.demon.co.uk 6