At the April meeting of the Essex Moth Group verification panel I accepted the task of documenting the evidence for the 12 species new to Essex in 2023. The resulting paper is available to download here: |
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This year I have a new project trapping in a chalk pit at Heydon which is in Cambridgeshire politically but in North Essex vice county for biological records. I made my first visit on 11/04. It seemed pretty disappointing at the time with only 33 moths of 17 species - but when I got home I was pleasantly surprised to find that a tortrix I couldn't identify on site was 49.262 Phaneta pauperana - the 7th Essex record and the first since 2004. 1759 species presented
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I have updated the vernacular names of all the micro-moths with the new names provided by Sterling and Parsons. After some initial reluctance to accept either that anyone should assume the right to change all these names, or that they should do so so soon after publication of a different set of vernacular name, I have accepted that with the field guide likely to be used by most British moth-ers the new names will inevitably come to be in use. Some of the changes are good - especially where the name provides a clue to which family a moth is in eg Micropterigidae = Pollen-moths, Nepticulidae = Dots, Opostegidae = Caps, Bucculatricidae = Tufts Other changes had the opposite effect eg Argyresthiidae were nearly all Argents and now they are mostly Tip Moths. Instead of nearly all Depressariidae being "Flat-body" they now have a mix of names many of which are shared with other families. Inconsistent use of hyphenation is also annoying eg Leaf-miner / Shoot Borer; Bark Moth / House-moth. Confusingly and stupidly some moths have had the vernacular name that was applied to one species applied to a different species (Mouse-ear Groundling, Common Groundling, Buff Mompha). Overall I would say that an opportunity has been taken to improve the English vernacular names of the micro-moths and has ended up fiddling with them without achieving this aim. I have updated the Checklist of the moths of the British Isles to include changes from the 7th Update as published in Ent Rec Jan/Feb 2024 and changed the names of all the micromoths as published in the 2nd edition of Sterling & Parsons. Whilst changing the vernacular name of the Momphas I noticed that the banner image on the M.propinquella page was almost certainly M.lacteella. Further investigation suggested that a further 2 of the specimens presented as M.propinquella were actually M.lacteella. The latter has now been added to this site. Two species sent to me by Roberta Legg have been added to the site. Unfortunately, although these specimens arrived in good condition and I carefully dissected and photographed them, none of the images taken on my microscope camera during dissection were recorded on the SD card. 1758 species presented
1751 Species presented
A 2 day trip to Portland, Dorset at the end of August produced only one new species An evening at Haugh Woods, Herefordshire (a detour on the way back from Cumbria to Essex) on 7th was successful in finding Oak Lutestring, 17 of them by 11pm. Trapping on Foulness on 9th I obtained my first Beautiful Marbled, unfortunately not the most beautiful specimen. Trapping on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly has added Diasemiopsis ramburialis The genital determination service has added two species: 15.013 Caloptilia hemidactylella, obtained by Simon Wood, is a FIRST FOR ESSEX; and 49.0388 Clepsis peritana, obtained by Daniel Blyton is the SECOND FOR BRITAIN - this was first recorded in Staffordshire on 20th July 2023. 1749 species presented
Further dissections from my trips in June have added Phyllonorycter dubitella and Cnephasia conspersana 2 weeks in the Scottish Highlands have added 3 species. A night at Orlestone Forest has added Dusky Hook-tip And a search for Marsh Mallow Moth along the Medway was successful A trip to the Middlewick Ranges, nr Colchester, with the Essex Moth Group on 23rd August has added Nemapogon falstriella and White-spotted Pinion Specimens sent to the Genital Determination Service have resulted in reappraisal of Delplanqueia with a page on the separation of D.dilutella/D.inscriptella and reidentification of one specimen as D.inscriptella which is new for the site. Another specimen caused me to examine the criteria for separating Cnephasia pasiuana from C.pumicana - with the conclusion that these two should be remerged until/unless further evidence supporting the split becomes available. For now I will only recognise C.pasiuana. See Cnephasia pumicana Together with finding C.conspersana and the the work done on C.pasiuana/pumicana I have written a long overdue page on identification of Cnephasia species. 49.303 Clavigesta sylvestrana has also been added 1743 species presented
Dissection from my trip to Cumbria in June have added 2 Nepticulid species On 8th July I potted a small tortrix which was resting on my car as I was about to leave home to set traps on Foulness. After a mammoth trapping session with >2000 moths of 180 species, 13 of which were new for Foulness, I found that the only moth new to me was this small tortix. Seven species have been added from the genital determination service. These include Augasma aeratella which has not been seen in Britain since 1956 and was considered extinct. There have been several subsequent records in southern England all to the NI moth lure. In association with identifying Pammene suspectana I have written a page to aid the identification of the difficult P.albuginana group. 1732 species presented
A trip to Hampshire with an overnight trapping session on 30th May added Drab Looper (netted in midday sunshine over wood spurge), Bucculatrix frangulatella (netted in evening sunshine); Dingy Mocha and Pammene germmana (to light trap). A trip to Cumbria with trapping at several sites has added Ebiblema turbidana, Pammene ochsenheimeriana and Eudonia lineola (and will probably add one or two other species once the Coleophora, Elachista and Nepticulids have been identified). Identifications confirmed by my genital determination service has also added Cydia pactolana - FIRST FOR ESSEX, Denisia albimaculea - also FIRST FOR ESSEX and Cymolomia hartigiana - SECOND FOR BRITAIN 04.100 Ectoedemia minimella removed (misidentification)
1722 species presented Found Indian Meal Moth (Plodia interpunctella) on my kitchen wall on 10th April and my genital determination service has added Stigmella perpymaeella - total species presented now 1713
1 species added (trapped by Mick Scott) 1711 species presented British Lepidoptera checklist updated with amendments from 6th Update (Ent Rec Jan/Feb 2023).
Relevent pages of the website also updated. 36.002 Batrachedra pinicolella reidentified as 36.0029 B.confusella following the split. |
AuthorDr Chris Lewis Archives
February 2024
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