GMS News

Weeks 28-36

Autumn 2013

Contents

Editorial Norman Lowe 1 Overview GMS 2013 4th Quarter Angus Tyner 2 The first year with my GMS moth-trap Jonnie Fisk 15 Autumn species in Wales Norman Lowe 18 Trapping in the field George Davis 19 Lepidopteran Crossword 4 solution Nonconformist 20 Tailpiece Norman Lowe 21

Editorial – Norman Lowe

Welcome to the last Garden Moth Scheme Quarterly Newsletter for 2013. In lots of ways the end of the GMS season has been very different from the beginning. At the beginning, in Quarter 1, numbers were way down because of the very cold spring, whereas the mild autumn weather has meant that, in the last quarter, species have been recorded in generally higher numbers than most previous years. And on the organisational front we have said goodbye to Dave Grundy as the national co-ordinator and hello to Heather Young.

But in other ways GMS has stayed the same. Once more we have seen the number of recorders rise, we have read about the results from quarter to quarter thanks to Angus’s detailed analysis and we can look forward to an exciting Annual Conference in March.

Many of you will have put away your moth traps of course and won’t dust them off till spring. But there are still interesting moths about even in December – when I emptied my garden trap a few days ago I had seven species including my first Pale Brindled Beauty of the season, a foretaste of the spring to come, though I know that’s really quite far off.

So here’s your last dose of GMS news for 2013 and I hope you enjoy it.

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Overview GMS 2013 4th Quarter – Angus Tyner

326 forms were forwarded to me, this is a headline in itself, an increase of 4% on last year. Q4 in 2012 was very poor and after such a good Q3, it was bound to be good for the last quarter as well, but how good was it?

There seems to be no hangover from last year and numbers are immediately back to the level seen the previous year, in fact 1% higher. Or putting it another way, the average number of moths per trap each week was 28, compared with last year when it was just 17.

This takes us to the next graph, where it can be seen that the blue line which is the average number of moths per trap in the week starts above 60 in week 28 and ends up below 10 in week 36. Throughout the quarter the numbers drop and there was a substantial rise in empty traps in the final week, when almost a third were empty.

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Quarter 4 mainly falls into September and October. The beginning of September was warm for some and the month overall was about average. With a few exceptions, September was dryer but duller than normal. October contrasted strongly with September in that it was very wet and mild, but like September, it was also dull. There were good nights for trapping if it wasn’t windy. The last week of the quarter and GMS 2013 was at beginning of November and it was quite cold which resulted in many empty traps, particularly in more northern regions.

I have included one more graph, showing the whole year. The broken purple line shows the mean temperature, and the very cold spring is very obvious, reflected in the small numbers of moths and high numbers of empty traps. But as the temperatures climbed, by the Weeks 19 to 27, Q3, the numbers rose markedly, then tailing off as you would expect in the last quarter.

As usual, I’ve included a table showing the top 30 and adding a few other species of particular interest. Although, as expected, many species have shown increases for 2013, the table does show some decreases compared with the 3 year mean and even some decreases compared with last year. In particular, Square-spot Rustic is one that doesn’t seem to have bounced back from last year. Other decreases compared with 2012 are much lower down the table and may be a result of advanced flight season due to the good Q3. But also at bottom of table are some Autumn species which are significantly down on their 3 year means. Perhaps these are species to watch?

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GMS 2013 4th Quarter – 326 Gardens (core species only)

Position % Mean (2010- 2010-12 increase/decrease Species (core list only) Total per 12 mean compared with garden position) 2010-12 2012 1(1) Large Yellow Underwing 14795 45.4 36.4 25% 89% 2(2) Setaceous Hebrew Character 8388 25.7 19.9 29% 56% 3(7) Common Marbled Carpet 6104 18.7 6.7 179% 124% 4(5) Light Brown Apple Moth 5623 17.2 10 72% 40% 5(3) Lunar Underwing 5498 16.9 14.4 17% 172% 6(6) Lesser Yellow Underwing 3862 11.8 9.2 29% 29% 7(4) Square-spot Rustic 3208 9.8 12.6 -22% -5% 8(15) Red-green Carpet 1765 5.4 2.6 108% 213% 9(13) Silver Y 1741 5.3 4.3 25% 7% 10(17) November Moth agg. 1579 4.8 3.5 40% 178% 11(9) Beaded Chestnut 1572 4.8 4.6 4% 283% 12(11) Blair's Shoulder-knot 1483 4.5 3.8 20% 116% 13(19) Rosy Rustic 1472 4.5 3 48% 106% 14(10) Black Rustic 1423 4.4 4.6 -5% 66% 15(23) Brimstone Moth 1311 4 2.7 51% 7% 16(22) Angle Shades 1238 3.8 2.5 52% 17% 17(8) Yellow-line Quaker 1041 3.2 4.7 -32% 234% 18(31) Garden Rose Tortrix 1026 3.1 1.6 93% 60% 19(14) Vine's Rustic 1006 3.1 3.9 -20% 110% 20(12) Spruce Carpet 952 2.9 2.3 27% 225% 22(18) Red-line Quaker 834 2.6 2 26% 171% 23(27) Feathered Thorn 778 2.4 1.6 50% 344% 24(16) Green-brindled Crescent 743 2.3 2.9 -22% 65% 25(26) Snout 719 2.2 2.3 -2% -25% 26(21) Flounced Rustic 713 2.2 3.1 -29% -18% 27(41) Small Square-spot 674 2.1 0.9 123% 136% 28(36) Garden Carpet 647 2 1.7 17% -11% 29(51) Flame Shoulder 642 2 0.7 197% 140% 30(39) Brown-spot Pinion 521 1.6 1.2 33% 181% 31(24) Common Wainscot 474 1.5 1.7 -13% 330% 37(33) Pink-barred Sallow 359 1.1 1.3 -18% 100% 38(49) Canary-shouldered Thorn 339 1 0.6 63% 63% 41(38) Frosted Orange 305 0.9 1.2 -24% 59% 43(20) Chestnut 287 0.9 2.5 -64% 56% 44(29) Barred Sallow 259 0.8 1.2 -35% 70%

In order to have another look at these rises and falls, here’s a new table containing thoe species with total counts of over 100 and which showed the greatest percentage increases and decreases compared with the 3 year mean. Some of those with a decrease still showed a substantial increase compared to 2012.

Some of the biggest rises are probably due to differences in flight periods, such as Heart and Dart which seems to have produced a small second brood. But Common Marbled Carpet does seem to have had a good year, as do Red-green Carpet and Garden Rose Tortrix. However Flounced Rustic and Centre-barred Sallow have shown consistent decreases.

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GMS 2013 3rd Quarter – 311 Gardens (core species only) Mean 2010- % (2010-12 Compared Species (core list only) Total per 12 increase position) with 2012 garden mean /decrease 57(76) Heart & Dart 157 0.5 0.1 278% 276% 39(55) Dark Sword-grass 330 1 0.3 212% 865% 29(51) Flame Shoulder 642 2 0.7 197% 140% 3(7) Common Marbled Carpet 6104 18.7 6.7 179% 124% 33(45) Rush Veneer 411 1.3 0.5 158% 176% 27(41) Small Square-spot 674 2.1 0.9 123% 136% 56(59) Diamond-back Moth 157 0.5 0.2 116% 267% 8(15) Red-green Carpet 1765 5.4 2.6 108% 213% 53(79) Mother of Pearl 170 0.5 0.3 98% -5% 18(31) Garden Rose Tortrix 1026 3.1 1.6 93% 60% 63(70) Flame Carpet 112 0.3 0.2 91% 60% 50(58) Burnished Brass 190 0.6 0.3 89% 99% 4(5) Light Brown Apple Moth 5623 17.2 10 72% 40% 34(40) Grey Pine Carpet 394 1.2 0.7 69% 103% 38(49) Canary-shouldered Thorn 339 1 0.6 63% 63% 41(38) Frosted Orange 305 0.9 1.2 -24% 59% 62(53) Dark Chestnut 121 0.4 0.5 -26% 170% 26(21) Flounced Rustic 713 2.2 3.1 -29% -18% 47(32) Shuttle-shaped Dart 246 0.8 1.1 -32% 141% 17(8) Yellow-line Quaker 1041 3.2 4.7 -32% 234% 61(48) Brindled Green 125 0.4 0.6 -34% 45% 40(30) Willow Beauty 319 1 1.5 -34% -27% 44(29) Barred Sallow 259 0.8 1.2 -35% 70% 45(35) Turnip Moth 255 0.8 1.2 -37% 195% 54(46) Centre-barred Sallow 168 0.5 0.9 -42% -47% 49(34) Sallow 224 0.7 1.3 -49% 4% 58(37) Brick 148 0.5 1 -55% 122% 46(25) Rusty-dot Pearl 246 0.8 2.1 -63% -64% 43(20) Chestnut 287 0.9 2.5 -64% 56% 55(42) Green Carpet 160 0.5 1.4 -65% -74%

Abundance by region

The next table breaks down the figures for the top 30 or so into regional values. The figures represent the mean number of moths per garden. The abbreviation for the regions are listed here.

NW North West England SC Scotland NE North East England IR Ireland YH Yorkshire & Humberside EE East England WA Wales WM West Midlands EM East Midlands SW South West England CI Channel Islands SE South East England

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NW SC NE IR YH EE WA WM EM SW CI SE No. of Gardens, Total 326 33 19 11 23 13 27 37 40 33 50 2 38 Large Yellow Underwing 27.5 6.6 19.5 14.2 44.6 88.2 11.1 35.7 32.3 65.5 29.0 81.9 Setaceous Hebrew Character 8.8 0.3 2.8 17.3 13.4 72.9 15.9 10.1 15.0 52.8 16.0 28.2 Common Marbled Carpet 17.7 4.4 19.0 19.8 6.5 5.7 30.7 21.7 10.5 25.7 16.5 7.7 Light Brown Apple Moth 11.5 0.3 6.7 10.7 8.8 9.2 10.9 24.6 13.0 24.9 28.5 27.8 Lunar Underwing 3.7 0.3 0.8 2.7 7.7 16.4 3.4 20.5 26.8 19.0 8.0 48.4 Lesser Yellow Underwing 9.8 3.2 5.5 3.6 13.2 11.4 5.6 14.4 10.9 14.5 11.5 16.8 Square-spot Rustic 1.8 1.8 3.5 7.6 1.9 14.1 4.5 3.4 3.8 12.6 19.0 35.3 Red-green Carpet 5.6 7.6 7.2 4.9 1.8 2.4 7.4 7.2 1.3 3.1 1.0 5.5 Silver Y 7.0 4.7 6.1 3.8 2.7 1.6 9.0 4.5 3.2 4.9 25.5 1.1 November Moth agg. 3.2 3.8 2.8 7.3 2.1 6.8 10.0 3.4 2.5 3.9 1.0 2.7 Beaded Chestnut 0.4 0.0 0.0 1.1 10.2 10.1 3.7 6.6 4.7 8.0 2.5 4.2 Blair's Shoulder-knot 6.7 0.0 1.3 0.8 3.8 4.8 1.5 7.6 4.2 3.7 5.5 3.6 Rosy Rustic 3.0 9.1 6.8 11.3 4.6 1.2 7.3 2.5 1.2 3.8 3.5 1.7 Black Rustic 2.5 3.7 0.1 6.5 0.5 4.7 6.9 3.6 2.2 5.0 29.5 3.2 Brimstone Moth 0.7 0.5 0.6 1.3 0.2 4.7 6.4 4.7 2.6 6.5 52.0 4.0 Angle Shades 3.7 1.0 0.5 2.5 3.6 3.4 4.8 2.6 2.6 5.4 11.0 2.9 Yellow-line Quaker 2.6 2.8 0.9 1.2 2.8 2.4 8.1 3.6 1.5 2.6 0.0 1.6 Garden Rose Tortrix 3.0 1.3 1.6 1.5 8.4 2.3 1.6 6.3 4.2 1.3 8.0 1.5 Vine's Rustic 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.0 0.0 0.4 0.3 1.2 5.0 17.5 Spruce Carpet 1.6 5.7 0.6 8.3 2.6 1.3 7.3 1.7 0.3 2.2 0.5 0.3 Red-line Quaker 2.8 1.3 1.7 3.8 4.3 1.6 4.6 2.2 1.5 1.8 1.0 0.8 Feathered Thorn 2.3 1.1 1.6 1.1 1.5 2.3 5.3 3.0 1.2 1.5 0.0 1.3 Green-brindled Crescent 1.4 1.3 1.2 2.7 2.5 2.2 6.1 1.9 1.0 1.8 0.5 0.9 Snout 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 2.8 2.7 1.2 2.3 0.7 5.8 5.0 2.9 Flounced Rustic 0.8 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.2 5.7 1.0 1.2 0.2 2.0 19.0 7.1 Small Square-spot 0.6 0.2 0.3 2.7 0.2 1.6 1.4 0.3 0.1 6.7 4.0 3.0 Garden Carpet 1.8 1.1 4.1 2.0 1.5 1.2 1.1 2.0 2.2 2.1 2.5 1.6 Flame Shoulder 0.8 0.1 0.0 0.7 3.4 3.0 1.8 1.2 0.7 4.5 7.0 1.8 Brown-spot Pinion 0.2 5.7 4.1 0.0 3.8 2.6 2.8 1.3 1.0 0.7 0.0 0.3 Common Wainscot 0.4 1.2 0.4 0.7 2.7 2.8 0.1 1.5 1.2 2.5 2.5 1.5 Pink-barred Sallow 0.8 0.4 0.5 4.5 0.6 1.2 1.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.2 Canary-shouldered Thorn 1.0 0.4 1.3 1.5 1.0 0.1 2.0 1.1 0.2 1.3 0.0 0.4 Frosted Orange 0.8 0.4 0.4 1.3 0.3 0.6 1.9 0.8 0.2 1.1 0.5 0.5 Chestnut 0.6 0.8 0.1 1.0 0.3 0.9 1.7 1.0 0.1 1.0 0.0 0.6

I’ve highlighted maximum numbers for a species in red and minimum in blue. It can be seen that the East of England had very large numbers of Large Yellow Underwing and Setaceous Hebrew Character and the South East had high numbers of Lunar Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing and Square-spot Rustic. But for some reason, Wales had the highest average number of 9 of the 34 species in the table, most of which were the true autumn species such as Red-line Quaker and Feathered Thorn. Perhaps not surprisingly, as autumn closed in, Scotland showed the lowest numbers for 12 species, though two species, Red-green Carpet and Brown-spot Pinion, were higher than anywhere else.

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Regional top 10

This table shows the Top 10 for each of the regions and includes species not on the core list. Either Large Yellow Underwing or Common Marbled Carpet are the commonest in all but two regions. However in the Channel Islands top spot goes to Brimstone Moth which features elsewhere only in the South West, and in Scotland the No. 1 spot goes to Small Wainscot which isn’t in the top 10 anywhere else at all!

North West Mean Scotland Mean North East Mean Large Yellow Underwing 27.5 Small Wainscot 12.9 Large Yellow Underwing 19.5 Common Marbled Carpet 17.7 Rosy Rustic 9.1 Common Marbled Carpet 19 Light Brown Apple Moth 11.5 Red-green Carpet 7.6 Red-green Carpet 7.2 Lesser Yellow Underwing 9.8 Large Yellow Underwing 6.6 Rosy Rustic 6.8 Setaceous Hebrew Character 8.8 Spruce Carpet 5.7 Light Brown Apple Moth 6.7 Silver Y 7 Brown-spot Pinion 5.7 Silver Y 6.1 Blair's Shoulder-knot 6.7 Silver Y 4.7 Lesser Yellow Underwing 5.5 Red-green Carpet 5.6 Common Marbled Carpet 4.4 Garden Carpet 4.1 Angle Shades 3.7 November Moth agg. 3.8 Brown-spot Pinion 4.1 Lunar Underwing 3.7 Black Rustic 3.7 Square-spot Rustic 3.5 Ireland Mean Yorkshire & Humber Mean East England Mean Common Marbled Carpet 19.8 Large Yellow Underwing 44.6 Large Yellow Underwing 88.2 Setaceous Hebrew Character 17.3 Setaceous Hebrew 13.4 Setac Hebrew Character 72.9 Large Yellow Underwing 14.2 LesserCharacter Yellow Underwing 13.2 Lunar Underwing 16.4 Rosy Rustic 11.3 Beaded Chestnut 10.2 Square-spot Rustic 14.1 Light Brown Apple Moth 10.7 Light Brown Apple Moth 8.8 Lesser Yellow Underwing 11.4 Spruce Carpet 8.3 Garden Rose Tortrix 8.4 Beaded Chestnut 10.1 Square-spot Rustic 7.6 Lunar Underwing 7.7 Light Brown Apple Moth 9.2 November Moth agg. 7.3 Common Marbled Carpet 6.5 Vine's Rustic 9 Black Rustic 6.5 Rosy Rustic 4.6 November Moth agg. 6.8 Red-green Carpet 4.9 Red-line Quaker 4.3 Flounced Rustic 5.7 Wales Mean West Midlands Mean East Midlands Mean Common Marbled Carpet 30.7 Large Yellow Underwing 35.7 Large Yellow Underwing 32.3 Setaceous Hebrew Character 15.9 Light Brown Apple Moth 24.6 Lunar Underwing 26.8 Large Yellow Underwing 11.1 Common Marbled Carpet 21.7 Setac Hebrew Character 15 Light Brown Apple Moth 10.9 Lunar Underwing 20.5 Light Brown Apple Moth 13 November moth agg. 10 Lesser Yellow Underwing 14.4 Lesser Yellow Underwing 10.9 Silver Y 9 Setaceous Hebrew 10.1 Common Marbled Carpet 10.5 Yellow-line Quaker 8.1 Blair'sCharacter Shoulder -knot 7.6 Beaded Chestnut 4.7 Red-green Carpet 7.4 Red-green Carpet 7.2 Blair's Shoulder-knot 4.2 Spruce Carpet 7.3 Beaded Chestnut 6.6 Garden Rose Tortrix 4.2 Rosy Rustic 7.3 Garden Rose Tortrix 6.3 Square-spot Rustic 3.8 South West Mean Channel Islands Mean South East Mean Large Yellow Underwing 65.5 Brimstone Moth 52 Large Yellow Underwing 81.9 Setaceous Hebrew Character 52.8 Feathered Ranunculus 31 Lunar Underwing 48.4 Common Marbled Carpet 25.7 Rush Veneer 30.5 Square-spot Rustic 35.3 Light Brown Apple Moth 24.9 Black Rustic 29.5 Setac Hebrew Character 28.2 Lunar Underwing 19 Large Yellow Underwing 29 Light Brown Apple Moth 27.8 Lesser Yellow Underwing 14.5 Light Brown Apple Moth 28.5 Vine's Rustic 17.5 Square-spot Rustic 12.6 Silver Y 25.5 Lesser Yellow Underwing 16.8 Beaded Chestnut 8 L-album Wainscot 24 Common Marbled Carpet 7.7 Small Square-spot 6.7 Small Fan-footed Wave 21 Flounced Rustic 7.1 Brimstone Moth 6.5 Four-spotted Footman 21 Red-green Carpet 5.5

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The next table shows the numbers each species is represented in the regional top 10. I find it interesting to look at the species that are in just one region’s Top 10 but don’t feature elsewhere. Probably some of these are absent altogether from some regions. Can you spot any that you don’t get at all?

Large Yellow Underwing 12 Brimstone Moth 2 Light Brown Apple Moth 11 Vine's Rustic 2 Common Marbled Carpet 10 Flounced Rustic 2 Setaceous Hebrew Character 9 Brown-spot Pinion 2 Lesser Yellow Underwing 8 Angle Shades 1 Lunar Underwing 7 Yellow-line Quaker 1 Red-green Carpet 7 Red-line Quaker 1 Square-spot Rustic 6 Small Wainscot 1 Silver Y 5 Feathered Ranunculus 1 Beaded Chestnut 5 Small Square-spot 1 Rosy Rustic 5 Garden Carpet 1 November Moth agg. 4 Rush Veneer 1 Blair's Shoulder-knot 3 L-album Wainscot 1 Black Rustic 3 Small Fan-footed Wave 1 Garden Rose Tortrix 3 Four-spotted Footman 1 Spruce Carpet 3

The graphs

Trends in common species since 2009

The first two graphs show how some particular species have fared since 2009. Here we see how 5 of the commonest autumn species have fluctuated year on year. Most of these have shown a downward trend from 2009 to 2012 with an upward swing this year. Only Square- spot Rustic is markedly different, with a high point in 2011.

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The next 5 species are all specialist autumn species and all show a minimum last year and a recovery this year. In most cases 2013 figures are quite similar to those of 2009, with Rosy Rustic showing an increase and Yellow-line Quaker a decrease.

Numbers of moths and species in Weeks 19-36 (quarter 3 & quarter 4)

This series of graphs give the regional figures for average numbers per garden and total species recorded in each week in each region. I’ve split the 12 regions into 2, between those with 24+ gardens and those with less. The larger the number of gardens, the larger the species diversity. Also some regions have larger species lists, so a direct comparison cannot be made between regions.

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Numbers of moths and species for each region

Finally, for each region I’ve plotted the total number of moths, the total number of species and the number of empty traps each week and compared them with the mean temperature in that region for the week.

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The first year with my GMS moth-trap by Jonnie Fisk

My favourite birds are nightjars, so I had always been quite fond of moths: the things that feed them. It was never anything more than a slight interest, one I might hold for the bacon sandwich that was about to feed me. However, somewhere along the line, probably the summer when I was 15 years old, the birds were nudged slightly in the focus of my mind, to share a position with invertebrates, and in particular, moths.

Why did I get such a sudden infatuation? Perhaps it was because they came in a much greater variety of shapes and colours than anything I'd ever seen before, perhaps it was the appeal of the mystery of them; nocturnal beauties, like my beloved nightjars, or perhaps it was the ease with which I could find them; hugging the outside of my kitchen window.

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They were the first seeds of this interest sown in my mind; those Garden Carpets and Large Yellow Underwings presenting themselves to me. The compost to accelerate the growth of these seeds, however, came with the purchase of Waring andTownsend’s concise guide, and soon I was identifying "Transparent Burnets" (worn Six-spots) and "Scarce Arches" (heaven only knows) everywhere. Over the years, practice with individuals I happened to find on walls or windows helped me progress, but it was the support and patience of local recorders Jill Warwick and Charlie Fletcher that really aided my interest.

I was 17, and a trap of my own was now my goal, so when I was told of GMS, and their offer of a free trap to would-be garden moth recorders, I wasted no time in applying.

Successful in my request, the trap arrived and opened up a whole new world for me. My garden was now Christmas morning every Saturday; a sense of trepidation as I went through the egg boxes. Those first Early Greys and Common Quakers, though unremarkable, were a milestone in my mothing calendar. From then on, I just watched the species diversity and carnival range of colours coming out of the trap increase every week, catches getting higher, more names written down and enough pots in the fridge to make my mother baulk.

Gold Spot – J Fisk

I wasn't limited to my garden either, oh no, this trap folded down nicely to fit in my Dad's car and was the first thing I packed on a trip to see family in the South West. I felt like I was taking a big, wooden ecological litmus paper; a thermometer to indicate the health of the area via the population of Lepidoptera, and boy, were the woods in Devon healthy! The sprawling Great Prominents, Nut Tree Tussock, Muslin Moths and clouds of Caloptilia sp. were nothing compared to the winged nirvana I then found by bundling the trap into the boot during a summer road trip across France.

My egg boxes drooped with Pine Tree Lappets, Goats and minty Black Vs. Oraches would buffet me about the face as I checked on the catch during the night, Spotted Sulphurs crawling through my hair. In the mornings I'd be drowned under a rhubarb and custard concoction of Oncocera semirubella, or revel in another variation in the markings of Tree

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Lichen Beauty. I came some way to imagining how AR Wallace must have felt, collecting those incredible new species in the dripping forests of Borneo, and that's all thanks to GMS.

Lappet and Pale Prominent – J Fisk

It's allowed me to look closer at incredible creatures which were present in my own garden, I'd just never had the means to look. The fantastic crinkled wings of Angle Shades, a Green Arches' emerald wash and the zebra legs of a Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing are all aspects I can now enjoy because of my involvement with GMS. When my classmates learn of the Peppered Moth in genetics, I will already have had first hand experience of carbonaria et al; when my grandma complains that the moths on her window will eat her clothes, I can assure her that Magpies and Dun-bars are not interested in scarves.

Goat Moth - J Fisk

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I've even converted my mother to the ways of the moth, with the help of Gold Spot, Swallow- tailed and countless other stunners. GMS has added another holster to my wildlife utility belt, broadened my knowledge of the importance of particular habitats, plants and ecological processes and, most importantly, given me another dimension of nature that I can gain pleasure from.

As I sort through browner, sparser catches towards the end of this recording year, I am already thinking ahead to the next, when once again my bright, clear mornings will be filled with scrawled notes, tangled electronics and magnificent moths.

Thank you to the Garden Moth Scheme for a hobby that will last my entire life.

Jonnie Fisk, (18) Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Autumn species in Wales by Norman Lowe

Looking at Angus’s quarterly results for Wales it does seem that we do quite well on this side of Offa’s Dyke for the specialist autumn species so I thought it might be interesting to see how they’ve done here since we started in 2007. I’ve selected 23 species that seem to me to be the characteristic ones (you may of course disagree!) and looked at the mean numbers per garden for each.

Specialist autumn species in Wales 2013 Number of moths per garden Common name 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Light Brown Apple Moth 11.1 6.0 4.2 2.6 6.8 3.1 8.0 November moth agg. 9.7 3.0 6.7 7.5 n/a n/a n/a Yellow-line Quaker 7.9 1.1 10.1 9.3 7.4 3.2 1.4 Black Rustic 7.3 2.0 11.4 2.7 9.0 6.3 8.9 Rosy Rustic 6.7 3.3 5.5 2.8 2.5 0.7 2.3 Green-brindled Crescent 5.9 2.2 9.7 4.5 4.7 0.9 3.8 Feathered Thorn 5.2 0.9 3.0 3.2 3.5 0.7 2.3 Red-line Quaker 4.6 1.6 4.0 4.3 6.4 2.9 1.6 Beaded Chestnut 3.7 0.3 1.7 1.2 0.5 0.2 1.8 Lunar Underwing 3.5 1.0 4.3 0.8 2.4 3.1 6.5 Figure of Eight 2.6 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.1 Brown-spot Pinion 2.5 0.5 1.5 1.3 0.3 0.1 0.2 Autumnal Rustic 2.3 2.2 5.2 1.5 5.3 1.3 8.7 Canary-shouldered Thorn 1.9 1.3 2.2 1.2 2.5 1.7 2.2 Blair's Shoulder-knot 1.8 0.6 2.1 1.8 2.9 1.0 5.1 Chestnut 1.8 0.5 5.1 5.1 2.8 4.3 1.7 Feathered Ranunculus 1.5 1.9 5.5 0.9 2.9 1.2 1.4 Pink-barred Sallow 1.4 0.9 3.1 2.2 1.9 1.2 1.7 Sallow 1.3 0.8 2.4 0.9 0.8 0.3 2.3 Dark Chestnut 0.7 0.2 1.3 1.5 0.5 0.7 0.3 Barred Sallow 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.3 0.3 Brick 0.4 0.2 1.0 1.2 0.5 0.3 0.7 Centre-barred Sallow 0.4 1.1 1.2 0.3 0.9 0.2 2.2

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As we’ve seen over the years many of these specialist autumn species, seem to be in long- term decline, so the figures in the table are quite encouraging. Just two of the autumnal species, Centre-barred Sallow and Feathered Ranunculus, were recorded in Wales in fewer numbers than last year. All of the others showed an improvement and 7 species had their best year on record and I’ve shown these in red.

The stand-out performer was Figure of Eight, which had never shown higher figures than 0.4 moths per garden, up to 2.6 this year (one lucky recorder managed a total of 54 moths in their trap, with as many as 22 on one night!). Light Brown Apple Moth also did very well this year after its poor showings since 2007. Other good results included Beaded Chestnut at 3.7 moths per garden compared with a previous best of 1.8 and Brown-spot Pinion at 2.5 compared with a previous best of 1.5, both of these earlier highs being in 2011.

Trapping In The Field by George Davis

Some thoughts and experiences of trapping away from the garden.

I first started trapping with friends soon after I became interested in moths. As well as being very enjoyable, trapping with friends, who are much more experienced, is a great way to learn. Now, with my main mothing friend unable to trap due to his health, I still go out but by myself. I really enjoy it and with this little note I hope to encourage some hereto garden trappers out into the countryside.

The first thing to say is that one does not have to travel far to see something new. Few gardens encompass coast, marshes, woods and fields so trapping in a different habitat – even a mile or two away – will often enable you to see new moths. Round Winged Muslin, Silky Wainscot and Gothic breed in marshland less than a mile away from my home but in ten years I have never seen any of these moths in the garden. If there are few trees near your garden try trapping in a wood – you will be surprised by the diversity and abundance of moths, some of which appear in our gardens only in small numbers. Moths can be abundant in a wood on mild winter nights after a cold spell and in early spring when many gardens struggle to see a moth at all.

A few tips, and experiences I have had out trapping are perhaps worth sharing. They might save you learning the hard way if you want to try! 1/ Get permission to trap from the landowner. You are not allowed to trap without permission from the landowner even on Common Land. This year the police and a land owner’s agents politely asked me to leave some Common Land miles from anywhere, where I was trapping in the early hours as they thought that my lights would attract the wider public because of local Raves! They had expected to find a budding raver and not a moth trapper – the result however was that they still wanted me to leave. 2/ If you are alone, have a working mobile and ideally let someone know where you are going. It is not good to have a flat battery in the middle of a wood in an English summer monsoon! 3/ Make sure you take all your equipment. It is unfortunate to drive 40 miles to find you have forgotten the choke, or net, or generator/battery or even something to write on or with. I have done several of those things as well as forgetting a torch! A check list would be a good idea but being a man I somehow seem to make the same mistake more than once! Make sure if you are trapping with a generator you have fuel, the correct plugs for your leads, some spare oil and check the generator works before you set off. If you trap with a battery check it is charged.

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4/ Arriving before dark is a wise thing to do – it is much easier to site your trap. 5/ I have twice driven into a ditch. The first time the AA would probably call it a bog- down – I was looking at a likely site by some nice Birch trees as I veered gently, slightly but irrevocably off course on a forest track at 5mph. Luckily a local friend winched me out. The other time I had parked and tried to sleep in my car – it was about 2am; I was facing an MV light so without sitting up properly I thought I could steer the car to point the other way! On the following morning the Glos. County recorder Roger arrived and his son very kindly came over to winch me out! The moral of this story is take care when moving the car down tracks at night in the dark and do not take your partners car! . 6/ If you are not going to be with your traps the expensive equipment needs to be secured or the site must be well away from public view from roads. 7/ Lastly and very importantly if you are driving in the early hours after a night’s trapping you will be very, very tired. There is no solution other than being aware of the dangers of falling asleep driving and being extremely careful.

I love being up all night trapping. I really enjoy seeing and identifying new moths. I love seeing the stars and having no streetlights or security lights nearby, hearing owls, and being ‘visited’ by animals - even by wild boar while trapping in the Forest of Dean. It is still possible on warm nights to see very large numbers of moths in the countryside that you see only sparingly in the garden and of course there is a good chance that you will see species you have never seen before. Next year if you have never tried it go with a friend, take a snack and a drink and see another side to our wonderful hobby.

Lepidopteran Crossword No. 4 Solution by Nonconformist

C O N F U S E D N M A O R I D A U D I U I R R U N E T T E D A N N U L E T I R O N E M A R L H S B L E S O E L O P H I L A L I G H T S I L V E R S R A O P E A U F I G U R E F O X G M P A I I K F E R N P U G S T A G E O L D R T S A U H I O U M S A T Y R A T A S A N D Y M I M A S R N Y G A N N A P I L D A Y L A P P E T P U P A U S L J O U R D M E R V E I L L E R O F Y

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Tailpiece Norman Lowe

So, how many of you managed to complete the crossword? I did, though some of the clues had me guessing for quite a long time!

Now, as I mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter, the GMS Annual Conference will be held on Sunday March 2nd at Moira Village Hall, Ashby Road, Moira, Swadlincote, DE12 6DP. It’s close to the northern end of the M42 so access is very good and I recall that we had a really enjoyable conference there in 2011. We have a star-studded line-up once more including a talk by Chris Manley previewing his latest photo guide to (almost) all the UK moth species, both micro and macro, as well as an update from OPAL on the findings from the GMS database, and a second instalment of John Wilson’s investigations into moth numbers and flight patterns. Both of these last two will provide a wealth of information about the GMS data, to which you have all contributed.

If that weren’t enough we’ll have a presentation on the moths of the East Midlands, not to mention a general look back at GMS 2013 and a look forward to our plans for 2014. Mark Tunmore of Atropos will be there with his stall of books and while Jon Clifton of ALS won’t be with us I hear that you might be able to arrange for items to be delivered to the event so you can pick them up and save on postage. Contact Jon at ALS for details.

On that note I’d very much like to thank our advertisers from ALS, Focus Optics and Atropos for supporting us during 2013, and also to MapMate for sponsoring the Annual Conference.

And finally, all best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

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 Moth Traps  Electrical  Generators & Batteries  Light-weight lithium batteries  Beginners Moth Trap Kits  Books  Butterfly & Pond Nets  Large range of specimen pots  Microscopes  Magnifying Lenses  Bat Detectors & GPS Systems  Longworth Mammal Traps  Beetle recording equipment  Free on-line Guides ~ see our web site

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