GMS NEWS

Week 18 – Early Summer 2008

Pale Prominent – Jean Southworth

Introduction:

Here’s the second newsletter for 2008 for the Garden Scheme (GMS). Have we built on our recording successes reported in the Spring Newsletter? How has the year progressed for our common ? Has this been the worst early summer ever or have things improved on 2007’s worryingly low numbers?

To those of you still quite new in the GMS then do get in touch with me, or your area coordinator, if you need any help with the GMS, such as how to fill in your forms, identification help or help with your trap. We will try and help you out.

No-one needs to send their 2008 records in until November, but any records sent in early help us to produce a newsletter with each set of records. As each year of the GMS consists of 36 weeks then we ask people to try to send in their records after week 9 (end of April), week 18 (end of June) and week 27 (end of August). So the more records that you send in then the more news we can get in the newsletter.

The next newsletter is due out in early October. We welcome contributions from all GMS recorders and especially the experiences of people new in the scheme or new into moths. So if you have any ideas then get them in to me as soon as possible after the end of August and by September 19th at the latest.

1 So, What’s the News from early Summer 2008?

We’ve had records back from an excellent total of 138 gardens for this period (slightly down on the 145 returns for Spring, but still a good total and a huge increase on the 72 returns for this time last year!) Well done to everyone who sent them in. Garden moth-trappers and field moth-trappers seem to be telling a mixed story for moths this year. Some people say that 2008 is the worst year ever while others say things have improved. A more measured look at all of this seems to indicate that poor sites and poorer gardens for moths have shown further declines on top of 2007’s poor year, while quality sites and gardens seem to have experienced something of a recovery.

Heart and Dart – Dave Grundy

The following tables show the top 10 commonest in the UK as shown by records sent in by you and as usual Heart and Dart is well ahead of all the other species for early summer, but how well did it perform?

The Ten Commonest UK Garden Moths 138 Gardens Position Common Name Total Average per moths Garden 1 Heart and Dart 5592 40.52 2 Flame Shoulder 1530 11.09 3 Light Brown Apple Moth 1381 10.01 4 Large Yellow Underwing 1322 9.58 5 Dark Arches 1095 7.93 6 Flame 843 6.11 7 Brimstone 840 6.09 8 Shuttle-shaped Dart 824 5.97 9 Buff Ermine 795 5.76 10 Common Marbled Carpet 660 4.78 2

The third column shows the total number of moths recorded by all 138 gardens in this period. The fourth column shows the average number of moths recorded per garden. It is also interesting to compare these 10 species for the different GMS areas as shown below:

Average Numbers Recorded per Garden of Ten Commonest UK Species, Early Summer 2008 YH WM SW SE SC NW NE EM EE CY Common Name 4 39 12 22 3 7 4 5 16 26 1 Heart and Dart 18.75 40.18 31.75 55.27 19.00 40.71 14.75 59.40 32.19 43.85 2 Flame Shoulder 3.00 8.44 17.58 11.50 3.00 8.00 .25 10.80 18.19 12.08 3 Light Brown Apple 4.00 11.51 14.17 20.05 n/a 4.00 15.75 11.40 6.13 2.27 Moth 4 Large Yellow 10.50 6.82 7.17 10.05 16.67 12.00 2.50 9.40 11.56 12.73 Underwing 5 Dark Arches 5.25 5.15 3.42 17.77 7.67 11.14 2.25 11.80 6.50 6.46 6 Flame 2.50 5.15 8.08 5.91 1.67 6.00 n/a 11.00 8.69 6.31 7 Brimstone 4.00 6.87 9.00 7.45 6.00 8.29 4.50 7.60 3.94 3.42 8 Shuttle-shaped Dart 2.75 4.59 9.83 11.59 n/a 3.43 2.25 7.40 9.56 1.46 9 Buff Ermine 1.75 4.13 8.33 3.23 0.00 12.29 0.25 4.20 10.13 7.15 10 Common Marbled 0.75 4.97 11.83 8.09 0.67 4.14 0.25 3.60 1.13 2.88 Carpet

In the table above; YH = Yorkshire & Humberside, WM = West Midlands, SW = SW England, SE = SE England, SC = Scotland, NW = NW England, NE = NE England, EM = East Midlands, EE = East of England, CY = Cymru or Wales. The figures in the third row are the total number of gardens that sent in records for each area (e.g. 4 for Yorkshire & Humberside and 39 for West Midlands) Other figures in the table are the average number of moths recorded for each species and each area. Figures for East Midlands, NW & NE England, Yorkshire & Humberside and Scotland are relatively small samples and therefore possibly not representative of the whole area. n/a means that records for this species are not available for this area.

For most areas the top ten species are roughly the same as for the national statistics, but there are variations. Most of these species are considered common across the UK, so it is interesting to see just how much their numbers vary between areas. Our statistics are possibly showing up these variations in distribution for the first time and that is thanks to your records.

For instance, Heart and Dart is less common in Yorkshire & Humberside, NE England and Scotland, while peak numbers were from the East Midlands and SE England. Shuttle-shaped Dart is commoner in SE England, but scarce in Wales, Scotland and Northern England. Buff Ermine and Common Marbled Carpet have a slightly different pattern being scarce in Scotland and NE England.

I reported in the Spring Newsletter that ‘one unlucky moth trapper managed an empty trap every week in 2008 with his Heath trap’. His patience with keeping trapping has been rewarded as he has now recorded 2 Spinach moths. The Spinach was once common across most gardens in the UK, but now is quite scarce, so a lot of recorders with ‘good gardens for moths’ would love to trap these 2 Spinach Moths. So the moral in the story is keep on trapping however poor you feel your garden is and you will eventually be rewarded!

3 Which Species have Increased or Decreased?

2007 to 2008 GMS Common Moth Percentage Increases and Decreases

Common Name WM SE EE CY All 4 Areas 1 Heart and Dart 65.82 30.44 66.93 79.51 67.10 2 Flame Shoulder 90.09 193.37 70.48 19.47 57.16 3 Light Brown Apple Moth 18.17 252.37 44.27 30.15 34.17 4 Large Yellow Underwing 48.80 40.07 69.97 46.49 35.45 5 Dark Arches 38.10 2.24 18.75 34.62 19.02 6 Flame 2.39 132.68 30.48 35.68 2.53 7 Brimstone 39.07 184.35 81.57 36.43 30.05 8 Shuttle-shaped Dart 15.16 121.61 8.27 80.25 31.67 9 Buff Ermine 10.61 35.71 5.06 49.82 19.11 10 Common Marbled Carpet 18.90 114.59 15.04 26.90 18.68

Good numbers of gardens took part in the GMS in 2007 and 2008 for West Midlands, SE and E England and Wales, so it is possible to compare performance of our commoner garden moths for these areas. The table above shows percentage increase or decrease in numbers of moths recorded between 2007 and 2008 for these areas. Figures in black are for percentage increase in average numbers recorded per garden, while figures in red are for percentage decrease.

Buff Ermine decreasing in most areas – Dave Grundy

As you can see, fortunes varied for the top ten commonest species, with 5 species declining between the two years and five species increasing. Remember 2007 was itself a record bad year for moths. Worryingly, the worst decline was for the commonest species, the Heart and Dart, with a drop to only 1/3 of their 2007 figures! Large Yellow Underwing, Dark Arches and Buff Ermine all appeared to decline in most areas, though Large Yellow Underwing figures are more difficult to assess as late summer figures are really needed to assess the full picture for this species.

4 Species appearing to increase between the two years were Flame Shoulder, Shuttle- shaped Dart and Brimstone. The other species had more mixed fortunes. Performance of these species varied considerably between the different areas with only two species declining in SE England, while in Wales the picture was a lot worse with only two species increasing. But, we can only really assess the full picture when we have a longer series of records over more years – so let’s keep recording at current levels for the next 10 years!

The difficult part in all this is trying to assess what causes the increases and decreases in particular species and also what is causing the differences between areas of the UK. Is this all based on variations in climate between areas? Does anyone have any suggestions?

For example, how did 2007’s awful summer affect moth numbers? The cold and wet weather would have reduced adult numbers recorded in 2007, just because less moths would have been flying. This then has a knock on effect even if 2008 is a good year for moths flying. Firstly, less adults flying in June 2007 means less males managing to mate with females and less females laying eggs in good sites. Also poor weather in July 2007 means that larval survival is likely to have been poorer for these early summer species. So with moths such as the Heart and Dart, then it is difficult to decide what factors have caused the declines. Was it due to these features of June or July 2007 or due to other factors?

Flame Shoulder increasing in most areas – Tony Williams

So, what about any other species, how did they get on, did they increase or decline between years. Out trapping in the field I have noticed a real lack of Common Wainscots in their first brood for 2008, did anyone else notice lower numbers? Do our GMS statistics back this up for the Four well-trapped areas? The table below shows that the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ With an average of a 2/3 decline in this species between the two years then this is a concern! Common Wainscots are common grassland species, so were grassland species affected more than others? Are there any other species that we should be concerned about?

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Common Wainscot Declines 2007 to 2008? West Midlands 69.42% Wales 73.86% SE England 39.30% East England 79.61% Four Areas Total 67.60%

Notes from Contributors: (All the articles below are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily of the GMS or GMS coordinators as a whole) a. From David Baker Let’s Go Green in 2008

We are always being told by our politicians to “Go Green” and save the planet. Well, for once, I agree with them! But it got me thinking about how many of our species of are, in fact, green in colour. Surprisingly, to me, I have already photographed 8 species in this, a relatively poor year.

The vernacular names of our Lepidoptera do not generally refer to the actual colouration of the species. However, green was obviously a striking feature back in the early days of classification and either the scientific name or the vernacular name referred to the colouration. Very few micros seem to carry a green colouring, but the real exception is Tortrix viridana or Green Tortrix. Viridana comes from viridis the Latin for green. I have seen the adult moth several times but the colouration has never been as distinct as the one I caught, and photographed, this year.

The butterfly carrying the green banner is the Green Hairstreak, a small, butterfly found in heathland habitat. This hardly seems to qualify for most of our gardens, but some lucky folk live adjoining suitable situations.

A good number of the green macro-moths are in the Geometer grouping and we can start with the “Emeralds”. The naming is obviously from the colouring of the gemstones and the intensity is varied between the species. I have already had both the Common Emerald and Light Emerald in the garden this year but await the which is usually a visitor each year.

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Two more small geometers have also been given the title of green. One is a “pug” and it is a great help in identifying one of this most awkward family when a nice Green Pug turns up. The Green Carpet is more readily identifiable although the colours do fade very quickly.

There are only a half-dozen noctuids with a green colouring and I have been fortunate enough to photograph two of them so far this year. Both are striking in their patterning. They are the Green Arches and Green Silver-lines.

I am writing these notes in early July and hope that more green visitors may appear before the end of the season, however it progresses from the poor beginning.

7 b. From Chris Johnson, Nuneaton, Warwickshire My garden moth comparisons 2008 & 2007 – Early Summer; what to make of it?

After reporting a very poor first quarter in the Spring newsletter, I thought I would look at the second quarter for my garden. My initial thoughts are; “much better than last year’s” but is it? Much scratching of the head and looking at figures made me wonder.

Comparing the GMS 2008 second quarter with the GMS 2007 second quarter. There are three species that show noticeable differences in numbers. Heart & Dart – 152 in 2008 & 130 in 2007 = 14.5% increase. Dark Arches – 19 in 2008 & 3 in 2007 = 84% increase. Beauty – 7 in 2008 & 2 in 2007 = 71% increase. (Note from editor – it’s interesting that Chris’s increases for Heart and Dart and Dark Arches are the opposite of elsewhere)

The number of species trapped in this quarter has greatly improved. 2008:- 32 species, totalling 258 moths. 2007:- 23 species, totalling 187 moths. As you can see the difference in numbers is 71 with Dark Arches, Willow Beauty and Hear and Dart making 43 of that 71.

Of the 32 species recorded in 2008:- 8 were missing from 2007 17 were new to 2008 15 were the same as 2007

So if I compare the “15 same” I see that the numbers were 235 in 2008 and 148 in 2007 making a difference of 87. Even if we take out the three species listed above, totalling 43, there are still 44 extra moths in my trap and that is quite a difference. The trap used was a 15 watt Actinic Skinner trap. The weather was not particularly good during the nine weeks in 2008.

For me I think the Actinic trap is better than a Mercury Vapour trap because: a) I live on a housing estate so light emissions have to be kept to a minimum. b) I don’t attract huge numbers of moths and therefore the number of species attracted is not as great as for a 125W MV bulb. This means less time is needed to identify the moths. c) But, the Actinic seems to attract more in the early spring and autumn periods than the 125W MV bulb.

My conclusions are: a) The second quarter has indeed, for me, seen an appreciable increase in the “15 same species” numbers compared to last year’s second quarter. b) The 17 new species compared to last year’s second quarter was also pleasing. c) Of the eight species missing from the 2008 list, only one species (Silver Y with three recorded) totalled more than one. Therefore the second quarter of 2008 has been good compared to 2007.

Equipment used was a 15W Actinic Skinner Trap in a ‘smallish’ garden in the middle of a housing estate with farm land to the North.

8 c. From Norman Lowe, GMS Cymru coordinator A Round-up of GMS Records in Wales so far in 2008 Report from Wales

Recorders in Wales have contributed results from 26 gardens for the week 10-18 period. Although Heart and Dart was again by far the commonest moth, the mean numbers per garden were down to just over a fifth of those found in 2007. The numbers of most other species were around half to two thirds of those in 2007, though the Large Yellow Underwing was found in larger numbers, presumably because its emergence started early this year – last year very few had emerged by Week 18. Other exceptions were the Small Square-spot and Green Carpet, whose numbers increased.

Number of moths found 2008 2007 Rank Name Mean per mean Total garden 1 Heart & Dart 1140 43.8 214.0 2 Large Yellow Underwing 331 12.7 8.7 3 Flame Shoulder 314 12.1 15.0 4 Hebrew Character 216 8.3 16.9 5 Buff Ermine 186 7.2 14.3 6 Dark Arches 168 6.5 9.9 7 Flame 164 6.3 9.8 8 Small Square-spot 134 5.2 2.1 9 Brown Silver-line 107 4.1 6.6 10 Mottled Beauty 107 4.1 7.9 11 White Ermine 98 3.8 8.1 12 Common Quaker 96 3.7 5.3 13 Pale Tussock 90 3.5 4.3 14 Brimstone Moth 89 3.4 5.4 15 Treble Lines 85 3.3 11.3 16 Peppered Moth (Light) 78 3.0 3.9 17 Poplar Hawk-moth 76 2.9 5.2 18 Common Marbled Carpet 75 2.9 3.9 19 Silver-ground Carpet 72 2.8 4.7 20 Green Carpet 63 2.4 1.1

It is also interesting to find out the proportion of gardens recording each species. Are the species thought to be “everywhere” really found by all the recorders? In fact only Heart and Dart was found in each of the 26 gardens, with a further 4 species found in all but one, and just 11 found in 20 or more. Perhaps more surprisingly, only 33 of the 152 species found by the 26 recorders were found in half or more of the gardens, indicating that there is a tremendous amount of variation from one garden to another throughout Wales.

Common Name Total 1 Heart & Dart 26 2 White Ermine 25 3 Buff Ermine 25 3 Flame Shoulder 25 3 Hebrew Character 25 6 Large Yellow Underwing 24 7 Dark Arches 23 9 8 Common Marbled Carpet 22 8 Flame 22 10 Brimstone Moth 21 10 Peppered Moth (Light) 21 12 Buff-tip 19 13 Scalloped 18 13 Mottled Beauty 18 13 Poplar Hawk-moth 18 13 Small Square-spot 18 17 Silver-ground Carpet 17 17 Garden Carpet 17 17 Pale Tussock 17 20 Elephant Hawk-moth 16 20 Flame Carpet 15 20 Brown Silver-line 15 20 Small Angle Shades 15 24 Common Carpet 14 24 Small Phoenix 14 24 Early Thorn 14 24 Double Square-spot 14 24 Bright-line Brown-eye 14 24 Clouded-bordered Brindle 14 24 Treble Lines 14 24 Spectacle 14 24 Snout 14 33 Common Quaker 13

White Ermine in 25 gardens – Tony Williams

10 Duncan Brown, North Wales

Duncan Brown has been trapping moths at Gwelfor, North Wales, for 13 years and has noticed a big decline in the number of Garden Tigers during that period. From 1996 to 2001 he averaged around 10 each year but since then the average is only around 2 each year. Has anyone else found a similar pattern?

Teigr yr Ardd Arctia caja , Gwelfor, Caernarfon 1996-2008

n 20 y d

d 18 y

w 16 l f

y 14

n

o 12 i l

o 10 g i

n 8 u

m 6 w

s 4 n a

f 2 y

c 0

6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

He has also found that the Garden Tiger has been very consistent in its flight period over the 13 years with almost all of them recorded in the 4 weeks 27-30 with just a few early birds in week 26 and some stragglers in weeks 31 and 32.

Teigr yr Ardd Arctia caja , Gwelfor, Caernarfon,1996-2008 cyfnod ymddangosiad yr oedolion

35

30 n o i

l 25 o g i

n 20 u

m 15 w s n

a 10 f y c 5

0

1 5 9 3 7 1 5 9 5 9 3 7 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 wythnos (1 - 52)

Finally, he’d like to point out that, for those of you who are Welsh speakers, the names of the Lepidoptera have now been given standardised Welsh names which have been incorporated into the GMS recording system and can be found on the GMS website. More details are available from Duncan at [email protected].

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Teigr yr Ardd (Garden Tiger) – Tony Williams d. From John Bryan, Staffordshire On a Lighter Note

As the moth flies, I have recently relocated approximately, three miles across the northern outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent. I have gone, from what, could have been termed a sub-urban garden, to a more urban environment. A downturn in my moth-ing exploits then? Well, not really. One question in the G.M.S. Survey asked, the proximity of a street light to your garden.

I started contributing records to the scheme in 2003 and was blessed in my old garden as to having a street, with several of the old 'head-banging' type of street light that meant, moths were drawn in from the surrounding countryside, unfairly maybe, and therefore, plenty saw my lights, resulting in pretty good catches.

Then, Stoke-on-Trent council in 2006, decided to replace said lights and place a new orange street light, practically outside every residence, effectively flooding the whole street with light, advantageous to motorist and pedestrian alike, but for this GMS'er it spelt complete disaster. With my old garden and its nearest street light, it meant, my trap sat in practical darkness, with the new lighting arrangement, I had a street light practically overhanging the garden. Result? My catches crashed. Okay, one could say the resulting drop in numbers could be down to the general decline in moth numbers overall, especially over the last two poor summers, but I am convinced that light pollution, has skewed my garden's results over the subsequent time, the new street light has been in place.

What then, is, exactly the skew? After all, moths are, attracted to light are they not?

12 One could also argue that, with the new lights in place, I was catching 'true' figures for my garden, as the old arrangement meant, more moths were being pulled in to fly over my trap. However, I am convinced the sudden whitewash of orange light over the whole street has had, such a detrimental effect on my catch, that, the 'orange-wash' of light is the sole cause. So, maybe? Fort the first time in our sport, could we ask the question. Does mass (orange light) actually inhibit moths reaction to light per se, meaning they may well shy away from it? Or that under said conditions, the attraction of the UV spectrum of any trap is greatly reduced in these highly lit areas?

So the move across town. More brickwork, tarmac, garden exotics and a better habitat, 'out the back', but most importantly, I think. My new garden is dark, there isn't a street light to affect what's coming in. And my 'new' garden? Is a concrete yard without the trimmings except, the dark surrounding. Since I put my first trap out on 13/07/2008 at the new place, the trapping experience has once again changed beyond comprehension. For a start, sheer number have probably increase ten-fold, OK, I'm not simultaneously trapping at both locales, but if I compare (mentally) year on year, once the council switched my street light on, Large yellow Underwing were lucky to make double figures. Here, at present I'm getting 40- 50 a night. The area I've moved in to was built in the last century (early) to house the local miners' families, consequently, Marbled Beauty and its love of moss/lichens on old walls has become my most numerous moth, with up to 35 (at height) a night, Light brown Apple Moth used to be my most common moth in the old garden, but they've hardly put in an appearance here. This only proves how valuable all garden records are, as the difference in results can differ dramatically 'just down the road', depending whether the lights are on or not.

Are Moth Traps affected by street lights? Photo – Tony Williams

13 So, What About Other Moth News? a. Winter GMS – 2008 to 2009

The GMS records most of the commoner moth species found in our gardens from the start of March to the start of November each year, but what happens to our commoner winter moths that fly between the start of November and the start of March? The answer is that we don’t know. So why don’t we try running a winter GMS this winter to see what is happening to these species and to see just how many moths are being recorded in gardens in winter?

For some of you out there then this may not be the scheme for you. So if you enjoy taking part in the main GMS but look forward to a winter rest then that is fine – we won’t try and force anyone to take part! However, if you are a regular moth-trapper over the winter anyway then why not send your records in to us? Also some of you might like to have a go at winter trapping for the first time? Some recorders with good gardens or who are based in the south of the UK, will probably record quite a few species over winter anyway. But, it is important that we try to find out what is happening to average gardens across the UK too. If your garden is like my inner city Birmingham garden then you will probably record no moths in most weeks (but then that makes it quick and easy to check your garden trap!). But remember that nil returns are very valuable to us building up the whole picture for UK moths.

If you do want to join in the winter GMS then please get in touch direct with me or with your area coordinators, so we can start to build up a winter GMS mailing list. I will mention more about this in the next newsletter.

For the winter scheme the plan is to just use one UK species list and not to have regional variations. The proposed species list for the scheme is as below;

Provisional Species List for Winter GMS Species Species Number Species Name Number Species Name 663 Diurnea fagella 1934 Dotted Border 998 Light Brown Apple 1935 Mottled Umber 1025 Tortricoides alternella 1960 Early Moth 1631 December Moth 2182 Small Quaker 1663 March Moth 2187 Common Quaker 1760 Red-green Carpet 2190 Hebrew Character 1799 Winter Moth 2227 Sprawler 1800 Northern Winter Moth 2237 Grey Shoulder-knot 1862 Double-striped Pug 2240 Blair’s Shoulder-knot 1923 Feathered Thorn 2256 Satellite 1925 Small Brindled Beauty 2258 1926 Pale Brindled Beauty 2259 Dark Chestnut 1930 Oak Beauty 2264 Yellow-line Quaker 1932 Spring Usher 2441 Silver Y 1933 Scarce Umber

Are we missing out some species that are common in your back garden in November, December, January and February and that are easy to identify? If so then let us know and we will try and add them to the list. Missing from the list of obvious candidate species is the November Moth group of moths. The problem here is that the three 14 species November / Pale November and Autumnal are not definitely identifiable in the field, so either we need to miss these species out from the list or we need to add them in and just record them as 1795x November Moth aggregate. So, let us know what we should do?

Proposed Winter GMS species? - Early Moth – Danny Arnold

Proposed Winter GMS species? - Winter Moth – Dave Grundy

2008/9 will act as a trial winter GMS and therefore if details of the scheme need changing then we will change them for the following winter. Also we will review the species list and improve it if necessary before the following year. 15 b. The GMS Chat-site

The chat-site is still going well. If you want to join, then get in touch with John Bryan, our coordinator on [email protected] – but you must mention the passwords Marbled Beauty to show that you are in the GMS. John was temporarily out of touch with us due to a house move, but is now back on-line again.

Recent Chat-site correspondence included a thread about Garden Tigers, which is interesting to report to the rest of you. How is the species performing in different parts of the UK?

Name Site Garden Tiger Records G. Davies Cornwall 2004 = 8, 2005 = 8, 2006 = 10, 2007 = 2, 2008 = 3 C. Pinder Dorset 2005 = 27, 2006 = 21, 2007 = 9, 2008 = 2 J. Southworth Dorset 2007 = 0, 2008 = 0 D. Owen Hants. 2006 = 0, 2007 = 0, 2008 = 1 M. Bridge Surrey 2003 to 07 = 0, 2008 = 1 D. Owen Essex 2001 to 05 = 0 C. Knott Norfolk 1998 to 2008 = 0 R. Hemming Herefordshire 2 in 2008 (about average for recent years) D. Grundy Worcestershire 2+ in 2008 (about average for recent years) T. Jacques Shropshire 1992 to 2008 = 0 T. Williams Glamorgan 2008 = 5 Bryan Jones Powys 10 sites = 2 in 2006, 1 in 2007, 0 in 2008 J. Hicks Gwynedd Several every year, nearby sand-dunes = 30+ in trap often! L. Steer Cumbria 1 to 8 is usual number including 2008 A. Hall Angus 1 or 2 per week in 2008, is usual

This anecdotal evidence appears to suggest good numbers without decrease in the north and west of the UK, but declines and absence in parts of the Midlands, South and East. Maybe 2008 has seen a slight improvement? In addition, of course, Duncan Brown has recorded a long-term decline in North Wales, as described earlier in this newsletter. c. Next Newsletter

The next newsletter is due out early in October, but the newsletter is only as good as your contributions allow so get your articles and photographs through to me by September 19th. Also please remember to get your week 19 to 27 records through to your area recorder as soon as possible after September 5th (don’t worry you can send us all 27 weeks of records if that’s easier), so that your records can feature in the next newsletter. This newsletter will be sent out by email wherever possible to save costs, so please try to arrange to receive it by email if you can. This then cuts down considerably on paper use for environmental reasons and cuts down on costs to GMS for postage, photocopying etc. It also saves time for myself in addressing and filling envelopes. If you cannot receive emails then we will of course send it out by post to you. d. GMS AGM – 2009!

Make a note in your diary now! - So that you can’t possibly be double booked – the next GMS AGM will be on Sunday February 15th from 1 to 5pm 2009 at Chaddesley

16 Village Hall in Worcestershire. We will send you more details and directions nearer the time! You can bring friends and family too, but we will be limited to the first 100 bookings for the hall. e. The GMS Questionnaire

We are still waiting for quite a few questionnaire forms from recorders, so please get them back to us as soon as possible to save us chasing you for them! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to fill in their GMS garden questionnaire already. This is incredibly important to us in that it will collect habitat information about your garden which we can compare with population changes in moths. If you can’t find your form then you can download a copy from the files section of the chat-site, or from our garden moths website at www.gardenmoths.org.uk or you can receive a copy from me or your area coordinator by email. You can also receive a copy from me by post – just let us know if you need one. f. A Correction

In the Spring issue of GMS News; March moth was listed in the table of the Top Ten commonest species for Spring 2008 with 0 records for NW England. This is not correct, the species is not on the NW England recording form and therefore should have read information not available (n/a). (Thanks to Alec Cheney for the correction)

Best wishes Dave Grundy Birmingham

DGCountryside, 5, Melrose Avenue, Woodfield Road, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, B12 8TG. Tel: 0121-446-5446 Mobile: 0777-898-0924 Email: [email protected] GMS Website: www.gardenmoths.org.uk

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Twenty Plume – Jean Southworth

The Garden Moth Scheme is sponsored by Anglian Lepidopterist Supplies

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