Moth Report for 2018
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CHESHIRE (VICE COUNTY 58) MOTH REPORT FOR 2018 Phtheochroa rugosana Kevin Peace Authors: Steve H. Hind and Steve W. Holmes Date: March 2019 Cheshire moth report 2018 Introduction As we wait for publication of the National Macro-moth Atlas, the recording of moths within Cheshire continues and during 2018 a number of species was recorded for the first time at regularly worked sites. Some of these were also new to their respective 10km squares, filling in a number of gaps within the atlas. With the recent inclusion of Micro-moths into the recording scheme, the interest in this once neglected group continues to grow, resulting in a significant number of new 10km square records. A list of all the 781 new species can be found in the Species new for their respective 10km squares in 2018 section towards the end of this report. Eight new species were added to the county list during 2018, Clover Case-bearer Coleophora alcyonipennella, Hoary Plume Platyptilia isodactylus, Grapholita lobarzewskii, Sitochroa palealis, Fletcher's or Pauper Pug Eupithecia egenaria, Toadflax Brocade Calophasia lunula, Webb's Wainscot Globia sparganii, and White-marked Cerastis leucographa. The best day was 26th June, with 289 species recorded, the fifth highest daily count on record. Work continued during the winter to add historical records from entomological journals and collections, which will enable us to compare our current data with that of the past. This work added two species to the county list following discovery of a specimen of the Potato Tuber Moth Phthorimaea operculella in Manchester Museum, which had been taken by Charles M Jones at Wallasey on 21st July 1961 and Teleiodes sequax, which was found in the collection of David J Poynton and caught at Prestbury on 18th July 1999. Light trapping was generally unproductive during early 2018 due to the cool wet weather. There was an exceptionally cold easterly airflow in early March, which brought strong winds and snow. Milder and wetter conditions returned, before another spell of cold easterlies mid-month. April was generally cool and unsettled, with the exception of a few hot days. May was drier and sunnier than normal, with spells of hot weather interspersed with cooler easterly winds and chilly nights. June was mainly dry and often sunny, with hardly a drop of rain all month. July was similarly hot, sunny and dry. Such conditions produced later than normal emergence dates for a number of species throughout May but others soon caught up and quickly advanced during the hot weather. This resulted in a very short season, as by mid-July, we were catching species which more typically fly in mid-August. Moths tend to frequently wander from their normal habits in such conditions and this was most obvious during the summer with the dispersal of Northern Spinach Eulithis populata, across the Cheshire Plain. Some common species, such as Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum, produced large second broods and there were second broods of normally univoltine species, such as Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis and Dark Arches Apamea monoglypha, with the latter continuing to fly until the year end. Five second brood Pale- shouldered Brocade were also caught during the first half of August. Something normally confined to further south. Periods of warm southerlies from mid-October until mid-December extended the season for many species. It seemed that almost every day there came reports of “my latest ever” for this species or that. Resulting from this, the latest ever records for the county were reported as follows: Beautiful China-mark Nymphula nitidulata and Blue-bordered Carpet Plemyria rubiginata on 17th September, Prays ruficeps on 26th September, Phyllonorycter geniculella, Anania crocealis and Dwarf Cream Wave Idaea fuscovenosa on 3rd October, Dioryctria abietella on 4th October, Timothy Tortrix Aphelia paleana on 8th October, Peppered Moth Biston betularia 9th October, Grapholita janthinana and Common Footman Eilema lurideola on 10th October, Aethes smeathmanniana on 12th October, Teleiodes vulgella and Silky Wainscot Chilodes maritima 13th October (previous latest 25th August), Lesser Common Rustic Mesapamea didyma on 15th October, Holly Tortrix Rhopobota naevana on 19th October, Gypsonoma dealbana on 30th October, Swallow-tailed Moth Ourapteryx sambucaria on 4th November, Lunar Underwing Omphaloscelis lunosa and Orange Sallow Tiliacea citrago on 15th November and Shuttle-shaped Dart Agrotis puta on 16th November. P a g e 2 | 72 Cheshire moth report 2018 Only two scarce migrants were caught during this period; Vestal Rhodometra sacraria and Scarce Bordered Straw Helicoverpa armigera, although numbers of Dark Sword-grass Agrotis ipsilon and Turnip Moth Agrotis segetum were above average. Generally it was a poor year for migrant moths. We only had a single Rusty-dot Pearl Udea ferrugalis and there we no reports at all of Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella. After 15 months of preparations, in December we published the “e-atlas” illustrating the known distributions of Cheshire’s moths, within the pages of “Cheshire Moth Atlas 1808-2017”. This undertaking would not have been possible without the support of the Tanyptera Trust based at Liverpool World Museum and in particular to Gary Hedges who sewed seeds in both our minds! The atlas, which we plan to update with 2018 records as soon as possible, can be found at the following site: http://www.northwestinvertebrates.org.uk/publications/moths-lepidoptera/ The table to the right shows the number of species and records in Cheshire over the past decade. The recording of moths continues on an upward trajectory in the county, with record numbers of both species and records achieved during 2018. Records of Micro- moths have more than doubled during this period and our knowledge of their county status is increasing each year. The county database now contains over 1,334,000 records. The map to the right shows the number of species recorded in each hectad (10km x 10km square) during 2018 to illustrate the recording coverage across the county. We managed to increase the number of species recorded in 33 hectads during the year, most significantly in SJ27 (Parkgate) and SJ89 (Sale), thanks to the work of new resident recorders. However, numbers were down in 15 hectads, due in a few cases to regular recorders either not trapping during the year, or a lack of casual visits. Most moth trapping continues to be carried out in recorders gardens and although we currently have a good spread of recorders across the county, there remain hectads without a resident trapper. Knowledge on the status of our garden moths is increasing each year but trapping away from our gardens is still very limited, so visits into the wider countryside is likely to produce the most significant rewards. P a g e 3 | 72 Cheshire moth report 2018 Time and effort dictate that this report cannot be a complete analysis of the years’ records; it does however itemise all micro-moth species that were recorded five or fewer times during the year as well as all macro-moth species recorded eight times or fewer. Throughout what follows, header information relating to each species appears thus: 3.004 Gold Swift Hepialus hecta (Linnaeus, 1758) Which, reading left to right detail: • Agassiz, Beavan & Heckford species number • Species’ vernacular name • Species’ taxonomic name • Species’ Author(s) Maple Pug Greg Osborn Grass Rivulet Bill Underwood Grey Chi Nicola Ginn P a g e 4 | 72 Cheshire moth report 2018 1.003 Micropterix aureatella (Scopoli, 1763) Three at Errwood, in the Goyt Valley on 21st May (SHH) and one at Wybunbury Moss on 3rd June (RB). Steve Hind 2.004 Eriocrania sparrmannella (Bosc, 1791) Twenty leaf mines at Delamere Forest on 15th June, five at Thurstaston Common on 22nd June (SWH, MB) and one at Mow Cop on 25th June (SHH). Steve Hind 2.005 Eriocrania salopiella (Stainton, 1854) Tenanted leaf mines at Mow Cop on 28th May (SHH). 2.006 Eriocrania cicatricella (Zetterstedt, 1839) Tenanted leaf mines at Cheshire's Close & Mount Pleasant, Mow Cop on 13th May (SHH), Kerridge Hill, Rainow (SHH) & Cleaver Heath, Heswall (PB) on 15th May, Bosley Cloud on 17th May (SHH), Henbury on 18th May (SHH), Errwood, in the Goyt Valley on 21st May (SHH), Macclesfield Forest on 23rd May (SHH) and Delamere Forest on 15th June (SWH, MB). 3.004 Gold Swift Hepialus hecta (Linnaeus, 1758) The only record concerned a female to light at Mottram on 27th June (BU). Bill Underwood 4.005 Stigmella betulicola (Stainton, 1856) Five larval mines at Thornton-le-Moors on 7th August (SWH) and four at Brookhouse Moss on 2nd November (SHH). P a g e 5 | 72 Cheshire moth report 2018 4.008 Stigmella glutinosae (Stainton, 1858) Tenanted mines at Tegg's Nose Country Park on 4th October and Grappenhall on 20th October (SHH). 4.009 Stigmella alnetella (Stainton, 1856) A tenanted mine at Grappenhall on 20th October (SHH). 4.013 Apple Pygmy Stigmella malella (Stainton, 1854) Three larval mines on Malus domestica at Brookhouse Green on 2nd November (SHH). 4.020 Stigmella paradoxa (Frey, 1858) Larval mines at Wrenbury on 8th July (SHH), Neumann's Flashes on 22nd August (SWH, MB) and Wildboarclough on 12th September (SHH). Steve Hind 4.024 Stigmella magdalenae (Klimesch, 1950) Two larval mines at Woodhead on 28th September (SHH). 4.036 Stigmella myrtillella (Stainton, 1857) Larval mines on Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus as follows: Wincle on 31st August (SHH), The Street, Goyt Valley on 1st September (SMG), Brushes Valley, Stalybridge on 22nd September (BS), Mow Cop on 27th September (SHH), Longdendale on 28th September (SHH) and Tegg's Nose on 4th October (SHH). 4.038 Stigmella obliquella (Heinemann, 1862) Leaf mines at Seacombe on 17th October (HJ), Aldersey Green on 29th October (HJ) and Gowy Meadows CWT on 5th November (SWH).