We received 9,500 moth records for 2015, rather fewer than the 13,000 for 2014 but that’s no great surprise given the often dire weather. The bulk of the records came from D&G’s 25 or so regular recorders, with holiday lists from visiting moth-ers and one-off sightings.
One moth turned out to be the first Scottish record of a micro-moth (the collective name for most of the smaller moths) not previously recorded north of Cumbria: a Twin-barred Knot-horn Homoeosoma sinuella, netted by Richard Mearns at Rascarrel Bay, Kirkcudbrightshire, on 3rd July.
Identifications of some difficult species, mainly micros, are still to be finalised. Micros comprised most of the additions to the D&G list, as expected; however, this year a new macro species was added as well. Jennifer Dunn from Ayrshire, enjoying a day out at RSPB Wood of Cree, photographed an attractive moth on Blaeberry. It was identified by Tom Vorsterman, an experienced Ayrshire moth-er, as Beautiful Snout Hypena crassalis (so called from the long palps extending forwards from the head), a moth seen only once before in Scotland, in 2012 in the Trossachs.
Other records this year included a Buff Footman Eilema depressa rescued from inside a watering can, a caterpillar found dangling from a child’s head during a school nature event, several moths on the outside walls of campsite toilets (always a good place to look), a Beautiful Golden Y Autographa pulchrina found resting on a shop window in Kirkcudbright and a Merveille du Jour Griposia aprilina caterpillar inside a squirrel feeder in Cally Woods.
An interesting record came from Birkshaw Forest near Lockerbie on 30 July where Jimmy Maxwell from Lanarkshire was watching Six-spot Burnet Zygaena filipendulae moths nectaring on knapweed. One looked slightly different and, on closer examination, turned out to be a Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet Zygaena lonicerae. This is the first record from Dumfriesshire, all previous occurrences originating from just over the border in Kirkcudbrightshire a good 10 miles away. The moth is common in England but Scottish records are mostly confined to Scottish Borders and the east coast round to the Lothians.
This year’s prize for the most dramatic moth must go to the huge Convolvulus Hawk-moth Agrius convolvuli found resting on a stone in the old cemetery in Beattock by Craig Landsborough on 26 August. This is a migrant species from southern Europe and there were sightings in 2015 from as far north as Shetland. The species’ love of Nicotiana (tobacco plant) flowers and the fact that it can be attracted to a wine rope engendered an array of “Giant moths invade Britain in search of booze and fags” headlines.
So what are our plans for the coming year? Firstly, D&G were approached by a PhD student to take part in a Forester Moth Adscita statices study. The study will use pheromone lures in the hope of increasing our knowledge of UK-wide Forester distribution. Secondly, 2016 is the last year of fieldwork for Butterfly Conservation’s forthcoming atlas of UK macro moths, scheduled for publication in 2018, so we will be targeting under-recorded 10km squares. If you have any records, from any years, still outstanding, do please get them to us ASAP so that they can be included in the new atlas. 2016 records should be submitted to the CMR by 31 January 2017. Our thanks to everyone who contributed records in 2015. Here’s to many interesting sightings in 2016.
2015 additions to the Vice-county lists
VC72 (Dumfriesshire)
Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet Zygaena lonicerae
Devon Carpet Lampropteryx otregiata
Silky Wainscot Chilodes maritima
Meadow Long-horn Cauchas rufimitrella
Northern Tubic Denisia similella
Large Birch Purple Eriocrania sangii
Early Purple Eriocrania semipurpurella
Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea
Bog-rush Fanner Glyphipterix schoenicolella (first for D&G)
VC73 (Kirkcudbrightshire)
Beautiful Snout Hypena crassalis (first for D&G)
Devon Carpet Lampropteryx otregiata
Broom Midget Phyllonorycter scopariella (first for D&G)
Downland Case-bearer Coleophora lixella (first for D&G)
Twin-barred Knot-horn Homoeosoma sinuella (first for D&G and Scotland)
Scarce Purple & Gold Pyrausta ostrinalis
VC74 (Wigtownshire)
Large Pale Clothes Moth Tinea pallescentella (first for D&G)
Brindled Plume Amblyptilia punctidactyla
Hemp-agrimony Plume Adaina microdactyla
