Moth News: Early Spring 2013

The mild first week of March soon gave way to a chilly easterly airflow with little respite until early April — records state this was the coldest March for over 120 years. Thankfully it eventually warmed up, with temperatures even reaching the low twenties in southern England around 24th April, which also proved the warmest night of the year so far. Nevertheless, moth-ers everywhere despaired at both the poor numbers and species selection recorded compared to previous springs. The second half of April did see an improvement, but it was apparent that spring 2013 was 3–4 weeks behind the norm.

Trench Wood (Worcs) — leafless and largely insect-less in March 2013 (Photo: Steve Whitehouse).

As one would expect, migrants were very limited. The pick of these was a Pearly Underwing at Tramore (Waterford) on 6th April. A small influx of about 44 Dark Sword-grass was noted; most were in Cornwall and Dorset, but interestingly six reached Bardsey Island (Gwynedd) on 24th April, coinciding with several records of overshooting southern European birds at sites along the Irish Sea coast. There were also nine Silver Y and nine Diamond-backed Moth around this time. A Rush Veneer was at Bonchurch (IoW) on 30th April. Four early Hummingbird Hawkmoths in Sussex were presumably re-emerging hibernators, though three nationwide on 30th April may have been new migrants. Fresh migrant Painted Lady butterflies were at Seaford (E Sussex) on 20th April and at Ventnor (IoW) on 27th. One or two male Large Tortoiseshells lingered at Walters Copse (IoW) from 19th April onwards.

The late spring has also meant that species overwintering as adults have been seen well into April, and single Brindled Ochre at Freshwater (IoW) on 5th and 19th April at this known site were the first actually seen there for some years.

Brindled Ochre, Freshwater, Isle of Wight (Photo: Sue Davis).

Pale Pinion have had a good showing, with at least 33 reported, including three in one night at Orlandon (Pembrokeshire) on 12th April.

Pale Pinion, Orlandon, Pembrokeshire (Photo: Rosemary Royle).

Pale Pinion, Tuosist, Kerry (Photo: Fionn Moore)

The scarcer Tawny Pinion was only recorded at four locations, but Dotted Chestnut have survived the winter well and many of the 34+ records to light were from Bedfordshire and Warwickshire.

Dotted Chestnut, Trench Wood, Worcestershire (Photo: Steve Whitehouse).

A Buttoned Snout was found at Spixworth (Norfolk) on 19th March and a Bloxworth Snout in Cornwall was spotted resting on a Penzance shop window the following day. A Scarce Tissue at Gretton (Glos) was a nice garden surprise on 24th April.

Scarce Tissue, Gretton, Gloucestershire (Photo: Roger Wasley).

Not surprisingly a few winter macros lingered in places; most noteworthy was a Spring Usher at Cury (Cornwall) on 4th March — the first one there since 1976! A Pale Brindled Beauty was still on the wing at Upper Rochford (Worcs) on 22nd April.

Table 1: first reported dates for some moth species that do not normally overwinter as adults during spring 2013

Species	Date	Location	County
Engrailed	1st March	Tuosist	Kerry
Red Chestnut	3rd March	Upper Rochford	Worcestershire
Lead-coloured Drab	4th March	Milton Keynes	Buckinghamshire
Shoulder-stripe	5th March	Spaxton	Somerset
Twin-spotted Quaker	5th March	Abbotskerswell	Devon
V-Pug	5th March	Buryas Bridge	Cornwall
Water Carpet	5th March	Abbotskerswell	Devon
Yellow Horned	4th March	Tuosist	Kerry
Brindled Pug	6th March	Ipswich	Suffolk
Horse Chestnut	6th March	Shaggs, East Lulworth	Dorset
Semioscopis avellanella (666)	8th March	Cratloe	Co. Clare
Orange Underwing	14th March	Rewell Wood	West Sussex
Early Tooth-striped	16th March	Dornie	Highland
Orange Underwing	17th March	Ham Walls RSPB	Somerset
Belted Beauty	29th March	Balranald, North Uist	Outer Hebrides
Powdered Quaker	2nd April	Winterborne Stickland	Dorset
Rannoch Sprawler	3rd April	Aviemore	Highland
Barred Tooth-striped	6th April	Mill Hill NR	West Sussex
Rannoch Brindled Beauty	9th April	Rannoch	Perthshire
Streamer	9th April	Gelli-hir-Wood LNR	Glamorgan
Pine Beauty	10th April	Ryton Pools NR	Warwickshire
Brindled Beauty	11th April	Wiveliscombe	Somerset
Brimstone Moth	11th April	Hennock	Devon
White Marked	11th April	Upper Rochford	Worcestershire
Blossom Underwing	12th April	Stover CP	Devon
Grey Pine Carpet	12th April	Brownsea Island	Dorset
Nut-tree Tussock	12th April	Llandaff North	Glamorgan
Common Marbled Carpet	14th April	Paignton	Devon
Frosted Green	14th April	Hodders Combe	Somerset
Light Orange Underwing	14th April	Horsenden Hill	Greater London
Northern Drab	14th April	Thorney Island	West Sussex
Semioscopis steinkellneriana (667)	14th April	Finemere Wood	Buckinghamshire
Emperor Moth	16th April	Dartmoor NP	Devon
Small Eggar	16th April	Hempnall	Norfolk
Adela cuprella	16th April	Fleet Pond	Hampshire
Purple Thorn	18th April	East Lulworth	Dorset
Eriocrania subpurpurella (006)	18th April	Ladywalk NR	Warwickshire
Brown House Moth	19th April	Chester-le-Street	Durham
Carpatolechia proximella (770)	19th April	Yellowham	Dorset
Common Heath	21st April	Denny Wood	Hampshire
Green Carpet	22nd April	Crows-an-Wra	Cornwall
Eriocrania sangii (012)	22nd April	Catherton Common	Shropshire
Pyrausta despicata (1365)	22nd April	High and Over	East Sussex
Sloe Carpet	22nd April	Undisclosed site	Essex
Bee Moth	23rd April	Wolvercote	Buckinghamshire
Eriocrania semipurpurella (013)	23rd April	Pilmoor Wood	North Yorkshire
Grey Birch	23rd April	Cratloe	Co. Clare
Lesser Swallow Prominent	23rd April	Ipswich	Suffolk
Lunar Marbled Brown	23rd April	Bewdley	Worcestershire
Oak-tree Pug	23rd April	Cratloe	Co. Clare
Scorched Carpet	23rd April	Box Hill NR	Surrey
Chinese Character	24th April	Ivinghoe	Buckinghamshire
Mullein	24th April	Sandy	Bedfordshire
Pammene giganteana (1227)	24th April	Ipswich	Suffolk
Pebble Hook-tip	24th April	Sandy	Bedfordshire
Ruby Tiger	24th April	Chippenham Fen	Cambridgeshire
Sallow Kitten	24th April	Bewdley	Worcestershire
Scalloped Hazel	24th April	Crows-an-Wra	Cornwall
Scalloped Hook-tip	24th April	Sandy	Bedfordshire
Schreckensteinia festaliella (485)	24th April	Ipswich	Suffolk
Spectacle	24th April	Warndon	Worcestershire
Brown Silver Lines	25th April	Herringfleet Hills	Suffolk
Incurvaria pectinea (129)	25th April	Stoke Common	Buckinghamshire
Tawny-barred Angle	25th April	Ipswich	Suffolk
Ancylis comptana (1116)	26th April	High and Over	East Sussex
Lime Hawkmoth	29th April	Lower Smite	Worcestershire
Puss Moth	29th April	Wiveliscombe	Somerset
Cameraria ohridella (366a)	30th April	Bute Park	Glamorgan
Garden Carpet	30th April	Hennock	Devon

Looking at the above table it is clearly evident that there were three main periods of emergence: one in early March and others in the third and fourth weeks of April. Interestingly the first dates of V Pug and Grey Pine Carpet are particularly early, while those of White Marked and Small Eggar are around three and four weeks late respectively.

White Marked, Clee Hills, Shropshire (Photo: Steve Whitehouse).

Engrailed, Trench Wood, Worcestershire (Photo: Steve Whitehouse).

Brindled Beauty, Warndon, Worcestershire (Photo: Steve Whitehouse).

The Streamer was part of the substantial haul of an opportune trapping session at Gelli-hir-Wood LNR (Glamorgan) on 9th April, which also produced 25 Oak Beauty, 39 Brindled Pug, nine Early Grey, five Early Tooth-striped and two Grey Shoulder-knot.

Streamer, Glamorgan (Photo: Chris Manley).

Brindled Pug, Glamorgan (Photo: Chris Manley).

The Lime Hawkmoth in Worcestershire was found in an upstairs office at the headquarters of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust at Lower Smite Farm, after it had sneaked in through a window left open overnight. A Lime Tree stands just outside!

Lime Hawkmoth, Lower Smite (Worcs), 30th April 2013 (Photo: Wendy Carter).

Not included in the first dates table were two interesting records still worthy of mention. Amazingly a live adult Red-tipped Clearwing was found inside a house in Lincolnshire around 5th March. Some sallow logs had been stored next to an open fireplace in the lounge and the emerging fresh insect was identified via a request and photoshare on Twitter! This species should not really be seen in the wild until at least early June. A Lesser Yellow Underwing found indoors in Sussex on 24th had also presumably had its emergence accelerated by central heating.

A count of 12 Barred Tooth-striped was made in East Sussex on 14th April and at least three were seen in the Silverdale area of Lancashire in the last two weeks. Worries for Belted Beauty at its Morecambe Bay site have grown further as only seven adults had been counted by late in the month.

Bill Last headed up to Scotland in April to join David Brown in the hope of finding some of the Highlands' most special spring moths. David Brown conducts up to a dozen residential Lepidoptera courses based at study centres throughout England, Wales and Scotland, annually from April to October. All are suitable for both beginners and more experienced participants alike and include illustrated talks and help on identification and information on key target species. Using a galaxy of moth traps together with daytime field visits to special locations, these often produce a diverse range of Nationally Scarce and interesting moths. Further information is available via emailing David. The snow had only just melted at lower levels as the group explored roadside habitat in Perthshire!

Bog Myrtle patch, Perthshire (Photo: Bill Last).

The weather was kind that day as six Rannoch Brindled Beauty were found resting on fence posts.

Male Rannoch Brindled Beauty, Perthshire, 13th April 2013 (Photo: Bill Last).

In the evenings, traps were sited in birch woodland at Kincraig (Highland) and overnight were successful in catching several Rannoch Sprawlers, the Scottish forms of Yellow Horned, Brindled Beauty and Hebrew Character as well as the moorland tortrix Acleris hyemana (1055).

Moth trapping at Kincraig, April 2013 (Photo: Bill Last).

Rannoch Sprawler, Kincraig (Highland), April 2013 (Photo: Bill Last).

Yellow Horned, Kincraig (Highland), April 2013 (Photo: Bill Last).

Acleris hyemana, Kincraig (Highland), April 2013 (Photo: Bill Last).

Dave Grundy also did well in Perthshire and the Spey Valley at this time, recording the micros Acleris logiana (1051), Acleris maccana (1060), Acleris rufana (1057) and a presumed Acleris lipsiana (1056).

Acleris maccana, Great Glen (Highland), 10th March 2013 (Photo: Ewan Munro).

Other notable micros nationwide have included a Carpatolechia decorella (767) at Tilberthwaite (Cumbria) on 28th February followed in the same county by a Mompha langiella (880) at Kendal on 11th March. A single Mompha divisella (889) was at Llandaff North (Glamorgan) on 13th April and two were in Gloucester city on 24th. A presumed Mompha bradleyi (889a) escaped from a front porch at Hartshill (Warks) on 23rd April before allowing a confirming photograph to be taken. However the observer, who found the county's second record in February last year, was happy with his views.

John Murray from Marshalls Heath (Herts) gathered a basketful of Norway Spruce cones from his garden to use as firelighters during the cold spell in March. He subsequently found an adult Cydia strobilella (1254) on his house landing in mid-April and this turned out to be the first county record since 1899!

Finally, Alan Fairclough and Tom Tams have been busy over the winter babysitting Northumberland-found leaf mines of micro moths. They have recently been rewarded with pristine emerging adults of Phyllonorycter platanoidella (363) off Norway Maple and Eriocrania cicatricella (011) off Birch.

Phyllonorycter platanoidella, Northumberland, April 2013 (Photo: Tom Tams).

Eriocrania cicatricella, Northumberland, April 2013 (Photo: Tom Tams).