Following on from the article in White Admiral 55 (Odin 2003b) some more information on Red Data Book moths has come to my attention. The list of RDB species is constantly changing and evolving presumably as a result of more knowledge becoming available. This brief note adds a few species to the RDB list plus updates some of the information contained in my previous article. The following have been recorded at Landguard and uses nomenclature as in Bradley & Fletcher (1986) and information on food plants from Emmet & Heath (1992) and Waring & Townsend (2003).
This species has been given a provisional RDB listing. Singles have been noted on 15th August 1993 , 8th September 1996 & 13th August 1998 . The moth larva is undescribed but apparently occurs on refuse of an animal origin. As a continual supply of dead rabbits and faeces from domestic dogs are plentiful on site it should have no problem in surviving.
One following strong easterly winds on 12th October 2003 was presumably a migrant from the continent. The food plant is mainly cultivated onions and leeks with East Anglian farmers hoping it remains rare, as it is a pest species on the continent. If it chose to colonise Landguard enough garlic exists for it on site.
This species has been noted in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 with singles in 2003 on 13th April & 14th July. An article on the species has recently been published (Odin 2003a). The food plants are Bur Chervil Anthriscus caucalis , Cow Parsley A. sylvestris and Rough Chervil Chaerophyllum temulum which are all present at Landguard. Work to protect the above food plants from rabbit grazing and human trampling would benefit this moth.
In my last article the food plant of this species was listed as Tortula ruraliforms. Richard Fisk informs me that this species is now called Syntrichia ruraliforms and this moss is common at Landguard.
In White Admiral 55 I stated that the status of this species food plant, the moss Brachythecium albicans is unknown. Richard Fisk informs me it is common at Landguard.
One noted on 23rd July 1997 . The food plant is Dog Rose, Rosa canina , which is present on site. Hopefully more will be recorded in the future. If not, the possibility exists that this moth was misidentified as the “plume moths” which are notoriously difficult to identify correctly.
Previously I reported this species had RDB 3 status. It has now been demoted from the RDB list to Nationally Scarce A.
One male 17th July 2003 . The food plants do not occur on site. The species became extinct in the UK about one hundred years ago. Only the males can migrate and the females are largely flightless. This individual must have regretted flying across the North Sea with no prospect of any females when it got here. The species is a serious pest species and if it did it attempt to recolonise the UK I am sure that the men from the ministry would turn up with their eradication equipment fairly quickly, despite its rarity status!
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to all those who help with moth recording at Landguard and to Richard Fisk, who not only read White Admiral 55 but took the trouble to write with information on the mosses at Landguard.
Nigel Odin, Landguard Bird Observatory,
View Point Road, Felixstowe,
Suffolk , IP11 3TW
Email: landguardbo@yahoo.co.uk
References
Bradley J.D. & Fletcher D.S. (1986). An indexed list of British Butterflies & Moths.
Emmet A.M. & Heath J. (1992). The Moths & Butterflies of Great Britain & Ireland Volume 7, Part 2.
Odin N. (2003a). Agonopterix curvipunctosa in Suffolk , Atropus 18 : 29-30.
Odin, N (2003b). Red Data Book Moths at Landguard Point. White Admiral 55 : 24 - 26.
Waring P. & Townsend M. (2003). Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain & Ireland .
© 2004 Suffolk Naturalists' Society