This was a joint meeting of the Suffolk
Branch of Butterfly Conservation and the Suffolk Naturalists' Society. The
Suffolk Moth Group holds many moth nights throughout the county during the
year, but being largely nocturnal events these can be awkward for some people
to attend. This year I have been running a few moth mornings as an alternative
opportunity for people to see some of the county's moth fauna.
A couple of moth traps had been placed within the area of woodland on
the farm the night before and allowed to run overnight. The traps we use to
record moths have a large holding container, operating on the same principle as
a lobster pot, where the moths can remain unharmed till the morning, having
settled down and become inactive. In the morning members of Butterfly
Conservation and the SNS came along to see what had turned up overnight. By
this time the moths had entered their dormant daytime phase allowing good
close-up views without too many flying off.
Some of our largest moths belong to the hawk-moth family, Sphingidae,
and three species of this impressive group were found in the traps:- Privet,
Poplar and Elephant. Most of our resident hawk moths are quite common and
widespread throughout the county so it was not too unusual to have a selection
in the traps. As the majority of moths are cryptically coloured, so that they
blend in well with their background as they rest during the day, it might
appear strange that the Elephant Hawk-moth is coloured in olive-green and pink.
The reason for its colouration becomes clear when you know that its main food
plant is Rosebay willowherb. The olive-green and pink colours of the moth match
the colours of the willowherb plant very well.
Another popular group at moth events are the prominents, family
Notodontidae. These are reasonably large in size, colourful and fluffy. Three
species of this group were found as we were going through the traps. The
Buff-tip is a master of camouflage and bears a remarkable resemblance to a
piece of broken silver birch twig. The front of the head of the moth is covered
in yellow hairs, looking like a cross-section of broken twig, with the
wings being mainly a silvery-grey colour and at the tip of the wing is a yellow
spot that looks like the other end of the broken twig. The caterpillars of this
moth live gregariously, feeding on various deciduous trees and as they grow
quite large can strip whole branches of their leaves.
As one would expect most of the species recorded were of the more common
types but there were some species of more localised distribution. The first Schoenobius
gigantella belongs to the family Pyralidae, in the micro-lepidoptera
(smaller moths). This species can have a wingspan up to 4.5cm - rather large
for a small moth. It tends to be associated with reed-beds and there was some
common reed growing in a ditch alongside the wood. The other two species of
note were Cream-bordered Green Pea and Pinion-streaked Snout. Both of these are
associated with damp habitats: fens, damp meadows and wet woodland, with the
caterpillars of the Cream-bordered Green Pea feeding on willows and sallows.
After we had gone through both the traps we had accumulated a total of
70 species, not a bad total for this time of year and without anyone losing any
sleep.
I would like to thank Joan Hardingham for allowing us to host the event
at her farm.
The complete species list is as follows: Common Swift, Plutella xylostella (Diamond-back Moth), Phtheochroa rugosana, Agapeta hamana, Pandemis cerasana (Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix), Clepsis spectrana (Cyclamen Tortrix), Tortrix viridana (Green Oak Tortrix), Celypha lacunana, Epinotia bilunana, Eucosma cana, Crambus lathoniellus, Crambus perlella, Schoenobius gigantella, Scoparia pyralella, Parapoynx stratiotata (Ringed China-mark), Evergestis forficalis (Garden Pebble), Udea olivalis, Ephestia parasitella, Homoeosoma sinuella, Figure of Eighty, Blood-vein, Riband Wave, Silver-ground Carpet, Garden Carpet, Green Carpet, Mottled Pug, Clouded Border, Mottled Beauty, Common Wave, Light Emerald, Privet Hawk-moth, Poplar Hawk-moth, Elephant Hawk-moth, Buff-tip, Swallow Prominent, Pale Prominent, White Ermine, Buff Ermine, Cinnabar, Turnip Moth, Heart & Dart, Flame, Flame Shoulder, Large Yellow Underwing, Ingrailed Clay, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Double Square-spot, Nutmeg, Light Brocade, Bright-line Brown-eye, Campion, Lychnis, Common Wainscot, Poplar Grey, Grey Dagger, Brown Rustic, Dark Arches, Rustic Shoulder-knot, Marbled Minor, Middle-barred Minor, Treble Lines, Rustic, Vine's Rustic, Mottled Rustic, Cream-bordered Green Pea, Burnished Brass, Spectacle, Straw Dot, Snout and Pinion-streaked Snout
Tony Prichard
© 2004 Suffolk Naturalists' Society
used by kind permision.