February was a very quiet month, with the low overnight temperatures at the end of the month keeping recording to a minimum. The only moths worth noting were spring ushers, Agriopis leucophaearia, a total of five scattered throughout the month.
This was another very quiet month with nothing special to report. Nevertheless, the total of 613 moths was the best March total since 1999.
A Chinese character, Cilix glaucata, on the 16th broke up the monotony of what was a very ordinary month. The only other noteworthy moth was a lime hawk moth, Mimas tiliae, seen on 27th April.
A brown silver-lines, Petrophora chlorosata, on the 17th May is a moth I seldom record in the garden, the last record being 12th June 2001. The 29th was red-letter day for moths: after all the mundane records throughout the year, a white-point, Mythimna albipuncta, in immaculate condition, put in an appearance. We are in the fifth month of the year and this is the only true record of note so far. This moth has, thus far, been regarded as a migrant, however, in view of the condition of this specimen and the increasing numbers of the species being recorded in Britain I would suggest that it might now be breeding in the county. The month finished with the first of a number of pauper pug, Eupithecia egenaria, on the 31st. As I write this, on 7th June, I have reached a total of eight.
This will be my last ‘SicklesmereGarden’. I am spending more and more of my time in front of the computer instead of being out recording. As well as recording at Sicklesmere and Elveden. I am invertebrate recording on 14 SSSIs and I find that I do not have the time to do justice to an article for White Admiral. I hope that someone will take up where I have left off and give us a new look at moth recording in a different part of the county.
Stan
Dumican,
Anglezarke,
Sicklesmere,
Bury St Edmunds,
Suffolk
IP30 0TJ
© 2004 Suffolk Naturalists' Society
used by kind permision.