Minsmere RSPB reserve in Suffolk is well known for its birds. Charismatic breeders (Bittern, Avocet, Marsh Harrier and Dartford Warbler to name a few) and rare passage waders make it a popular place to visit.

The reserve’s non-avian species receive less publicity but are equally important. This was the first site in Britain to record breeding Antlion Euroleon nostras and there is an important population of Silver-studded Blue Plebejus argus. Regular moth trapping has taken place since 1976, but has varied in intensity depending on the ability and inclination of the reserve staff.

My involvement began in April 2003 when I became Minsmere’s new Assistant Wetland Warden. My various responsibilities include running the reserves monitoring programme, and with an established interest in Lepidoptera it wasn’t long before the moth trap was running again. At the time, the reserve list stood at around 665 species. I could not have predicted that less than four years later we would pass 1000. The total largely reflects the increased concentration on micro-moths.

Minsmere’s size and diversity of habitats predictably produces a diversity of moths that is hard to beat. The large reedbeds support many of the scarcer breeding birds on the reserve and similarly hold good populations moths associated with this wetland habitat including White-mantled Wainscot Archanara neurica and Fenn’s Wainscot Chortodes brevilinea (the former confined in Britain to reedbeds along a short stretch of Suffolk coast and the latter’s range extending into the Norfolk broads), as well as most of the other British wainscot species. The areas of woodland also hold notable species including Pauper Pug Eupithecia egenaria where there are stands of lime and Yellow-legged Clearwing Synanthedon vespiformis in the areas of mature oak. Elsewhere on the reserve can be found Tawny Wave Scopula rubiginata, Shaded Fan-foot Herminia tarsicrinalis, Lunar Yellow Underwing Noctua arbona and Square-spotted Clay Xestia rhomboidea. The last two of these are priority Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species. The vegetated coastal shingle produces its own selection of moths and the scarce pyrales Nyctegretis lineana, Platytes alpinella and Pima boisduvaliella are all recorded. The attractive micro moth Monopis monachella is common and Caloptilia falconipennella, discovered in 2005, was new to Suffolk as were Syncopacma larseniella and Elegia similella in 2006. A total of 17 Red Data Book and 71 Nationally Scarce moths have been recorded to date.

It is the migrants, however, which often cause the most excitement and Minsmere is ideally placed to be the first port of call for many. The best of the bunch so far was Britain’s first (and so far only) record of Catocala conjuncta trapped on 14th September 2004. The English name of Minsmere Crimson Underwing has already helped to raise the profile of invertebrates on RSPB and other nature reserves. Other noteworthy migrants have included Scarce Silver Y Syngrapha interrogationis (two records in 2006, unrecorded in Suffolk prior to this year), Striped Hawk-moth Hyles livornica (1996 and 2006), Tree Lichen Beauty Cryphia algae (2005) and the tortrix Cydia amplana (one in 2004 which had to be rescued from a trap full of hornets was the second for Suffolk). Although, as with birds, migrant moths are not directly of conservation importance, a number of species are starting to colonise Britain from continental Europe and moth trapping allows us to plot and monitor their arrival. Cydia amplana and the Tree-lichen Beauty are examples of two species that are being recorded with increasing frequency in Britain and the latter is now breeding in London and showing signs of expanding its range.

So what was the 1000th Lepidoptera species to be recorded on the reserve? This honour falls to another scarce migrant, the Many-lined Costaconvexa polgrammata. This species was a former resident of several British fens being finally recorded as a breeding species at Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire. There were no Suffolk records until one turned up at Landguard Point in 2005. The Minsmere individual was one of five to be trapped in the county in a 2006 influx, raising hopes that it might breed on our shores once again.

The 1000 species include 33 butterflies, amongst which are the spectacular Camberwell Beauty Nymphalis antiopa (6 records) and the Queen Of Spain Fritillary Issoria lathonia (a number of records from 1995-1997, during which breeding was suspected). Next target – 1000 moths, and we aren’t far off!