February 1990

frAJON PNOJECT FON SOCIETY!

Plans have been afoot for several- years to publish an atLas of t.he county's . In Newsletter 2 we announced that the Leicestershire Museum Service was to produce a review of the county's lepidoptera for the 1970s authored by Ray Barnett and the .l-ate Don Hall-Smith. 'l The start of the 990s significant importance to has prompted the Society to the conservation of sites consider the production of valuable for . a review of our lepidoptera which wiII not only update Your heTp neededJ the 1970s draft but also incLude historical, as wel-1 Leicestershire is relativelv as 1980s, data. poor)-y off for records of lepidoptera when compared Biographies & computers to other counties. In particular, hi-.:torical Also to be inc.l-uded are records are scarce. biographies of Leicestershire lepidopterists who have made We need your help to l-ocate significant contributions as many records as possible. to our understanding of the Do you know of naturalists distribution of butterfl-ies who may casually record and in the county. butterflies? If so, then As part. of the publication persuade them to let you we shal-l be producing an have copies of their sightings updated check-list of the lepidoptera of the county. Are you aware of ardent entomologists who prefer to Al-l- this has come about as do their own thing and do the records of lepidoptera, not report their records to as of the 1st January 1990, anybody? Contact them and will be computerised. rt get their records! Any oid is only right that we now coll-ections knocking about have a benchmark against that we should know of? Are which future record- you aware of reports in ing can be measured and I Society magazines, journals without a doubt, such a or even newspapers? Let us publication wil-l- be of know ! UNASUAL D]ILLIPEDE AT HINCKLET

Reg Price, an amateur natural-ist who has revived an earlier interest in insects and other invert- brates, reports on some unusual- findings on the ol-d bridle way/green lane called Barwe]l- Lane in Hinck1ey.

"On June 20th 1989 r found a striped millipede in a rotting e1m stump on Barwell Lane. Pam Copson of the Warwick Museum identified it as OmmatoiuLus sabuosus, IApparently this species is rel-atively uncommon as can V be seen from the mapl

Other insects I have seen OmmatoiuLus sabuosus in Barwel-l- Lane during June and July of 1 989 (aeshna grandis) were on the incl-ude the l-esser stag wing. Two other rnsects beetl-e (Dorcus parallel- identified were the slender- ipipedes) of which many bodied digger wasp (Crabro were seen. Several examples cribarios) and the scorpion of Anax imperator (the fly (Panorpa communis)" emperor dragonfly) were seen during July and in Req Price August many brown aeshnas

CODTDIItrEE T99O CONRECTION

As no nominations were In Neil Frankum's articLe received at the Society's on hoverflies in gardens AGM t.he existing Committee (Occasional Publications was returned en bl-oc for Series Number 3, 19BB ) 1990. Chalcosyrphus nemorum should read Eumerus spp. Chairman: Ray Morris

Secretary: Derek Lott COPTWANTED!

Treasurer: Jane McPhail The Newsletter welcomes your news and views. Send your Programmes: contributions to Ray Morris at 142 Hinckley Road, Barwell fndoor: Roger Key LE9 8DN preferably as typed copy. Al-I i1l-ustrations Outdoor: John Mousley shoul-d be done in black ink for ease of reproduction. Editor: Ray Morris coPY DATEg rst July rggo DTONEOtr DIELANIC PEPPENED DTOTHS v fn his articl-e on the peppered , Biston betularia, in Newsletter 3, Ray Morris asked some questions about the genetics and evolution of industrial mefanism. The answers are avaj-l-able through the work of H.B.D. Kettlewell and others.

The first black form of result, typical peppered B. betul-aria was caught in moths are conspicuous on Manchester in 1B4B. The black tree trunks and so freguency of mel-anics fall prey to birds. In rapidly increased in indust- contrast, melanic moths rial areas until, by the are at an enormous advantage turn of the century, in being camouflaged and so England and Wales 99t of survive to breed. populations in and downwind of industrial areas was Not environmentaL bl-ack. Mel-anism is not caused by v Genetic cause envj-ronmental conditions, being initially the result Mel-anism is caused by a of a fortuitous mutation, gene, known as carbonaria, but its spread is a conseq- which is dominant. Conseg- uence of environmental- uently, not only is a moth conditions . Carbonaria is that carries two carbonaria noL the only gene for mel- genes (the homozygote) black anism in B. betul-aria, but so is a heterozygoLe there also being a fess which carries one gene of common insuJ-aria gene which the typical type and one is also dominant. of carbonaria. Typical peppered moths carry no A further complication is carbonarr.a genes. A mating that larvae of at least a between two heterozygotes proportion of black peppered (which are black but which moths is resistant to produce equal proportj-ons chemical- pollution of the of eggs or sperm each carry- leaves that they eat and so ing eit.her a carbonaria survive better in industriaL or a typical gene) produces areas. black moths and typical moths in the ratio of 3:1 ; MeLanism declining one third of the black offspring wiIl be homozygotes Industrial melanism is the and two thirds wil-I be best instance known of heterozygotes. natural- sel-ection producing change in a population. It Mel-anism spread so rapidly now seems that the process because peppered moths rest. may be in reverse. Effective by day on tree trunks, the smoke cont.rol legislation typical form being well- is resulting in t.he re-est- camouflaged on a lichen- ablishment of Li.chens on covered tree. Lichens are tree trunks in towns and extremely sensitive to cit.ies, and the area of at.mospheric pollution and high meLanic frequency in disappeared in the 19th B. betul-aria has contracted century from blackened to the north east of tree trunks in and downwino England. of industrial areas. As a Jenny Owen

3 coLEoPrEnA 1989 v Beettles foand on Society field meetings

Entomol-ogists are like farmers - always moaning about Lhe weather! It is either too hot, too col-d, too windy or too anything else that you can think ofl This is because insects, in general, are not tolerant of a wide range of temperatures and humidities. In 1989 it was, on the whole, too dry for many beetles, but occasionally rt was too wet! This was reflected in our experiences durrng frerd meetings last summer.

Saddington reservoir list of regronal rarities. (sP 6690,7.v.89) Our own Soc:.ety chose to This site has enjoyed a spend its frrst ever fiel-d reputation for being one of meeting at Sacjr:rgton on the premier sites for beetles 7th May 1989. lhrs visit in Leicestershire since the happened to co:-nclde with v l-ast century. The earliest the aftermath cf cne of the record that I have seen is few periods of :crrential of Chl-aenius vestitus rain in a very jry year. published by Francis Plant Conseguently, the conditions in 1857. were more suitabie for some of the members to show off The Reverend A. Matthews their ownership of waders l-ived very nearby at Gumley than for coLlect:.ng beetles! from 1853 until- 1897. He Nevertheless 33 spec:.es were col,lected an amazing array recorded and alchough no new of beetles but was somewhat rarities were four:i several- '1 imprecise in the localities o1d ones were (Tabie ) . that he gave. It may well be that some of his records Only the two Benbto:on came from the reservoir but species have been found as far as I know he never el-sewhere in the county tn referred to it by name in modern times. any surviving l-iterature. Misterton marsh Even so, the activities of (sP555B5l, 7.v.89) the Entomological Section of the Literary and PhiLo- In contrast to Saddrngton sophical Society of the reservoir, the marsh vrsited 1890s and of twentieth at Misterton on the same century collectors, such as day was almost bone dry I D. Tozer and C.W. Henderson, This si.te has been damaged have ammassed an outstanding by drainage and coniferous

Tabl-e 7 . Beetl-es at Saddington reservoir 7 . v. 89

Carabidae: Bembidion doris Benbidion fumigatun PLerost i chus anthrac inus Hydrophilidae: Helophorus nanus Staphytinidae: La throb i um impres.su/n Dochmonota cl-ancuTa

4 Coleoptera tgSg continued \y plantation. The remaining Charnwood Lodge nature open areas will eventually reserve in this county. turn into dry scrub and Nearby was a recently ex- become unsuitable for the cavated hole two metres wetl-and beetles. Even now long which received water only 14 species coul-d be drained from an adjacent found in the marsh. The field. This unpromising most interesting find was locality yielded 17 species the rove beetl-e DeubeLia of water beetles ! Perhaps picina. The only previous some of them, such as Leicestershire record of Hydroporus gyllenhali and this species was by Matthews H. pubescens were refugees

Table 2. Beetl-es at Acresford sandpit 2.vii.89

Carabidae: NotiophiLus substriatus v OTisthopus rotundatus Amara l-unicolJ-is Harpalus rubripes Staphylinidae: Xanthol-inus jarrigei Tachyporus atriceps

Acresford sandpit from the dried up Sphagnun (5K3013, 2.vii.89) pool.

I had been looking forward HaLl-aton Castl-e to this visit ever si-nce ( 5P7896, 3 . ix . 89 ) John Mousley brought me a subterranean rove beetle, A visit to a fantastic Bl-edius opacus, f rom the water beetle site at Great site earl-ier in the year. Bowden Pit was defeated by However, by July the drought the drought. The next site was under way and at Acres- at Hal-laton CastIe al-so ford conditions were too previously boasted an dry. Neverthel-ess, 30 impressive water beetle species of beetle were list from the stream. recorded including several Linnebius papposus was added faithful- disused quarry to it. and waste ground species (Tab]e 21 . I spent most of my time in a dung heap 200 metres away Moira where I found 11 species of ( 5K31 8 15 5 , 2 . vi i . 89 ) beetLes including the histerids Peranus binacul-- Of chief interest here was atus and Athoius duodecim- a visit to a Sphagnum pool striatus and the clavicorn which had dried out. For Monotoma picipes. Horse fear of damaging the habitat dung in an adjoining fiel-d only limited sampling was yielded several rove beetles carried out and only two including Philonthus dis- water beetles could be found. coideus and P. longicornis. One of these belonged to the species Hel-ochares punctatus, otherwise only known from continued on page 6....

5 {l- frTICNODIOTNFNOIV "DOVIN.UNDER" : .4" L\ SPNEAI' I NG THNOUGII B NITA'tr

Epiphyas postvittana is a member of the Tortricrdae' It originated in Australia and was first recorded rn thrs country in 1933 when there were several records of speclmens bred from l-arvae imported on New Zeal-and apples. In 1936 it was recorded as breeding in Cornwal-l. Since then rt has spread through Cornwall- and Devon to Kent and Essex as;ei-I as the London area.

A single specimen came to E. postvttcana rs a pest tight on 1B-1 f. iv. 89 in to apple growers rn Austral-ia Cardiff. A further eight and New Zeaian: where it is specimens were recorded known as the ^:gh:-brown from the same source between apple moth o:- app:e l-eaf- 10-31 . v. B9 i.ndicating that roLl-er. Fortur:a'-ely the the species is breeding larvae in Br::a:: are ! locally. In October 1989 polyphagous. -r3 iar 100 the species was recorded in different fooip*ancs have Oxfordshire. been recordec. I:: some parts of Cornwali che moth The northernmost specimen is continuously b:coded: recorded so far was caught eggs, larvae, pupae and at light in a Kirby Muxloe imagines occurri:g :n any garden (sx 521037) in month of the year. September 1989. It was positively identified by In which county w:-- this Ray Barnett now Assistant micro appear next? Curator, Natural History at the City Museum, Bristol-. [My thanks go to Tei Hancock, presently prepartng volume 5 - Tortricidae - of MGBGf for the map and up to date information and to Ray Barnett for the identificatron. l v Jane I,lcPhaif

Coleopteta I99O contd.

On the way home I visj-ted another dung heap in Hallaton at SP7B2983 where I found 13 species. Those additional to the first site included the histerid Acritus nigricornis, the staphylinid Oxytelus scuJptus and the clavicorn Epiphyas postvittana Monotoma bicoLor. Derek Lott NEW MEDIBENS v UNSEASONAL

1tt''r\ DTICNO! Simon Edwards, 50 Grosvenor Ditul-a angustiorana made a Crescent, Oadby LE.2 5FP very unexpected appearance in my kitchen on 4.xii.B9. RP Beal, 38 Fairfield Road, This micro-moth, a member of Hugglescote LE6 zHG the Tortricidae, is usually on the wing in June and Ryan Wafker, House, JuIy. The eggs are laid Pond Lane, Greetham, Rutland and the larvae hatch by LEl 5 7NU August. The l-arvae survive the winter in a woven Brian Mitchell, 127 Watling hibernaculum, wake in the Street, Grendon, Near spring to continue feeding Atherstone, Warks and then pupate in June. Trevor Forsythe, 5 Knob Hi1l, Brought into the warm kitchen SLretton-on-Dunsmore, Warks - with some of the apple CV23 9NN v store in the autumn, the Iarva's dormant stage appears David Budworth, 121 Wood to have been interrupted Lane, Newha1l, Burton-on- by the fal-se impression of Trent, Staffs spring. Food was plentj-ful- (apples and leaves) so Ian Viles, 19 Dorothy pupation fol-Iowed and the Avenue, Sandiacre, Notts moth, a beautiful, well- NG1O 5LH marked mal-e, emerged very early for next year! Know of anyone who would be Jane McPhail interested in joining the LES? Tell them about us ! GANI'EN BUTTENFLT SUNIrE.T

During 1989 the souLh west group of the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust for Nature Conservation carried out a small scale survey of butterflies seen in members' gardens during the period March to October. The results of this survey are currentl-y being col-lated and analysed. It is hoped to run the survey again in 1990 but this time extending the invol-vement of Trust members to the whole of the county.

with the launch of the lepidopteran project by the LES it would seem only right and proper that LES members shoul-d be invited to participate in this recording scheme. The survey will have an increased importance in assessing the effects of a long, hot, dry summer in 1989 followed by, as yet a mild winter, oD the butterfly population of the county.

If you wish to be invo1ved send a large s.a.e. to Ray Morris, 142, Hinckley Road, Barwell LE9 8DN. The survey period will- run from April to Oct.ober 1990. NEXT COPY DATEI IST',TALY 1990 NEW TTOTNSAT SHEANSBT b FOAR SPOTTED FOOTXAX GEDI!

After 14 years recording moths at Shearsby with the aid of a mercury vapour lamp, new species continue to turn up each year. I think this shows that when condrtions are favourabl-e moths will travef considerabl-e distances which adds greatly to the fascination of recording.

There are, of course, many occurs rn woods, gardens etc other factors: the loss of The farvae are said to feed , the increasing number on a varrety of common trees of conifers, poplars, wild but the most common tree cherries etc which are being ash - is not q:-ven. planted - alL must affect the types of species which fdaea seriata ilttl appear in any area. (Smal-1 dusty wave )

First timers at Shearsby This was found on June 28th Y in 1989 included the foll- in the centre of a privet owing. hedge I was ciipprng. It was a very nice, fresh spec- Lomographa bimacul-ata imen whj-ch I had drf f iculty Fti" (White pinion spott.ed) in recognising at frrst but on matching j-t with those The capture of this species in the Museum reference on 23rd May was not entirely collection it was clearly unexpected as it had been seriata. It is sard to feed reported across the county on low ground plancs wrth in recent years. South a preference for wrthered gives its main foodplant as dandelion l-eaves l hawthorn but says that it is most frequent in the exanthenata (q$ south where wild cherry (Common wave) f l-ourishes. Certainly on two occasions when I have This species was aLso rec- seen it in the county, orded for the first trme cherry trees have been on JuIy 14th. why th:-s : nearby. Perhaps the popul- particular species took so arity of flowering cherries long to be recorded at in gardens has encouraged Shearsby I do not know. It its spread northwards. has been fairl-y commonly seen elsewhere as i-ts name pyralina implies. Perhaps the lack nw' $\\ (Lunar spotted pinion) of woodl-and in the district has a bearing on this as its A worn specimen of this foodplants are trees which moth came to the light trap grow in damp woodland. on July 22nd. I first saw this species near Misterton Cybosia mesomel-l-a ru{\ when the Natural History (Four-spotted footman ) section of the Literary & Philosophical- Society ran This was undoubtedly the a tight trap there in July most outstanding first 1982. This too is mainly a appearance of 1989 ! This southern species, thinning easily recognised moth out over the Midl-ands, and actually landed on me as I

B Sheatsby tt moths contd,

was standing by the MVL on Members will be saddened to July 3rd. On checking the hear of the sudden death of records at the Museum, we Dr Ken Greenwood, a founder found Lhat it had been member of the Society. Even recorded from Gumley in the though he lived just over Victoria County History. the border j.n Waiwickshire, This was published in 1907 Ken often ran light. traps and there have been no with Society members in the records from the county south west. of the county. since. Ken was a life-Iong devotee The informat.ion in MBGBI i_s of the lepidopte::a with that it occurs on heaths, particular inLerests in the moorland and open woodland butterflies of Central in southern England and America and the moths of spasmodically up to into Britain. He was a generous Scotland. The feeds \t man who would go out of his on lichens growing on heather, way to encouraEe othei, less trees and bushes. The lack knowledgable, naturalisLs to of this type of habitat in become interest.ed in the this area makes it most study of butterfLies and unlikely that it could moths. He will- be sorely become establ-ished here. missed by his friends.

HaroLd Godsnark Ray Morris

WOOD WIfiTE AT CNOrr? ,(r-t.\ l./ The wood white butterfty Earl- Shil-ton site of 197 6 (Leptidea sinapis) is usually is only a couple of miles associated with woodland, away. particularly coniferous, habitat. However, a number of non-woodland col-onies are known especially in freland. Here they may breed in oi_d guarries, railway cuttings and lanes. The species has always been local and has never been common in our county the l-ast known record being in 1976 at a disused Earl Shilton quarry.

During 1989 a keen naturalist thinks he may have spotted two of the species in the Croft area on May 7th. Unfortunately, dt the time he was unaccompanied and thus t.here is no confirmat.ion of the existence of the species in the area. It should be noted that the BOOKNEVIEW -

Local- Lists of Lepidoptera or a BibLiographical Catalogue of Local- -Lrsts and Regionaf Accounts of the ButterfLies and Moths of the British fs-Zes - J.M. Chalmers-Hunt, 1989, Hedera Press, Oxford, 21 pounds.

The author will be familiar to many lepidopterists as the writer of the definitive study of the lepi.doptera of Kent, published in the proceedings of the now Brltish Entomological and Natural History Society. This latest work attempts to catalogue lists of lepidoptera published in Brj.tain. The book consists of over 3,000 refrences arranged in alphabetical- order by first author. The index is arranged on a county basis aIJ-owing rapid identification of those publications of interest to the reader. rn a work of this type rt is almost impossible to include al-l the published l-ists as the research depended very much upon a range of libraries. Inevitably, many lists published by Local- societies will have been missed as so often these never reach the main reference collections. Y Nevertheless, for anyone interested in knowing what has been published in their home area, ds wel-l as in an area they intend to visit, the book is a useful- starting point. NEWPTNALID FON COPYWANTED! . :/' coaNTr As in previous rssues of \'-,/ the LES Newsletter we Agriphila LatisLrja was appeal for more contributions taken at MVL in my garden from our members. at Barwe]l on 4. ix.89. It was in very good condition Have you come across some- thus allowing positive thing that was out of the identification against the ordinary? Have you recorded illustration in Goater. a new species or unusual The identity of this easily behaviour in insects? recognised moth was confirmed Do you have comments to make by Ray Barnett, now of the on the Society's actrvrties? City of Bristol Museum. Let us have your rnput to This crambid has a distinctive the Newsletter and share creamy-white median long- your experiences with oLhers! itudinal stripe on the fore wing which extends into the Don' t forget that we wou.l-d fringe. According to Goater Iike your more detail-ed the moth is a local species reports for inclusion in but where found it may be the Society's Occasional- common. The moth frequents Publ-ications Series. Have coastal sandhills, dry heaths you carried out intensive and, occasionally, woody rides surveying at a site or have in sandy districts. The you studied the distribution hot weather of 1989 pre- of a particular group of sumably extended its insects in the county? favoured habitat inland Let us know - if you are allowing spread of the moth. not sure how to go about writing up your work please Ray Morris ask - we' 1l- help !

70 'f'ErroN QUARBT A petronal vlewpolnt

Members may remember visiting the disused quarry at Ketton on the night of 31st August 1985 for a moth-recording session. ;\-. Species that stuck in my mind were the local Tissue and |.'-rio Brown Scal1op. Determined to get to know the site a Little r-/(ry: I\ better, I have endeavoured to visit Ketton at least once a year, the main restraint having been the distance of the site from my home in south west Leicestershire.

Every time I have visited you may see at the county's there has been something other colony at Leire Cutting, t, ^ new. For instance, on one but hundreds if not thousands! Itu)1) occasion I was fortunate The hot summer of last year to arrive at the peak seemed to have definitely flowering time of the ensured the continuance of common spotted orchids, a this colony. common enough species but r fv L, '5 )t+ I have never seen so many Brimstones, common blues at a Leicestershire site. and speckled woods were 16te1 also frequent as were the Other plants found in pro- whites and two of the skippers it.\tltLe. fusion include the unusual (Iarge, smaLl) . A11 in al-L yellow-wort, marjoram, a total of seventeen species eyebrights and wild parsnip. of butterfly were seen over Without doubt the site is a period of a couple of hours. a must for botanists but it has other attractions. In Under threat? 1989 nightingal-es bred at the site, adders were rel- Ketton quarry is a SSSI but atively common and the this will not guarantee its butterflies were incredible ! safety from neighbouring Limestone guarrying activities. Butterf l-ies galore ! Indeed, Ketton Cement has, for a long time, refused to JuIy 19th 1989 saw a friend even consider management and myself visiting Ketton of the site despite its to see one of only two known importance for plants, sites of marbled white reptiles, birds and insects. butterfly colonies in the county. Immediately behind It was encouraging to read the industrial units a large of an agreement at last patch of ragwort attracted between the Leicestershire -, our attention. Small tort- Museums Service and the t+ oiseshells were everywhere -l'(, -1 company to carry out essential Ii together with plenty of scrub management, the single peacocks and the occasional- most immediate threat to [5crl comma. Any extension of the the natural history interest industrial units onto this of the site (Heritage, 1990, area of waste ground would winter/spring rssue). resu1L in a major nectar source being wiped out. My main concern is how long will it be before quarrying In the cutting area the sLarts again at, to my mind, butterfly we had come to the best site in the countv. see was on the wing, not just the odd one or two that Ray Morris

1l SUDTDIENPNOCNAMDTE

Before turning up please check with the l_eader that the event is stil] on. Day meetings in the county wil-r meet at 09.45 in the Museum car park or at the site at 10.30. Moth/ evening meetings , marked *, wil-l meet at the location at dusk. Check times with l-eader if unsure. A venue (l_ocal_ pub) for lunch and discussion of the morning's work wir-r be decided in the morning.

April 1st LocKTNGToN MARSHES (meet at sharp bend on minor road SK479298. Leader: Derek Lott (Leicester 554100 x 3031 )

May 20th cHARNwooDLODGE (meet at rodge east side of mj-nor road SK457154) . Leader: John Bull-ock (Leicester 554100 x 3090)

May 26th* PRIORTS COPPICE (meet at minor road t.o Leigh Lodge SKB34049) . Leaders: Ron & Jean Harvey ( 0536-770259)

May 27Lh PRIORTS COPPICE (meet. at minor road to Leigh Lodge SKB34049) . Leader: l.lichaet Jeeves (Leicester 608659)

June 9th* KETTON QUARRY (meet at minor road north off the A6121 at SK979054). Leader: Adrian Russel-l- (Leicester 549922 x 6411r)

August. 4th* owsroN wooD (meet at minor road sK796o6i). Leader: Adrian Russel_1 (Leicester 549922 x 6411)

August 5th owsroN wooD (meet at minor road sK79 606l ) . Leader: John Kramer (Leicester ]'16499)

August 11th RIVER EYE (meet at car park behj-nd sports ground off the lr^676, SK7631BB). Leader: John Mousley (l,eicester 554'l 00 x 3090 )

August 18-19th STAFFORDSHTRE(joint meeting with other l-ocal county entomol_ogical societies and the British Entomological and Natural_ History Society, including moth traps. A l-eaflet with more information is avail-abl-e from Co1in Plant on 0279-507697)

September 2nd ASHBY CANAL (meet at car park at Sutton Wharf near Sutton Cheney village, SK4,10995). Leader: Steve Grover(0455-202110\

The Society thanks the Leicestershire Museums Service for its advice and cooperationj in producing the publications of the LES.

Next copy datet Ist July IggO 72