7

November 1991

DRAGONFLT BONANZA IN KNIGHTON!

Two years dgo, LES member Maggie Frankum and her family built a pond (6m x 4m) in their Knighton garden. The pond was filled on 25. iii.89 and throughout June of that year t.hey saw many male LibeTl-uLa depressa over the pond and also sighted a female laying eggs on 18.vi.89. Throughout the rest of the summer, dragonfly nymphs were seen lurking at the bottom of the pond at least twelve on 11.x.89.

In 1990, in late May and mid skin. Close examination June the Frankum family again showed a further ten empty saw male and female depressa skins and another three together with nymphs of dragonflies were seen to varying sizes in the pond. emerge. As a result a daily watch was kept which gave a This year on 19.v.91, quite total emergence of fifty by chance, Maggie was present three dragonflies (see table when an adult dragonfly was below) . emerging from its nymphal cont p5

Emergence of Libe7Lu7a depressa from a garden pond in Knighton, Leicester during 1991.

Date of emergtence No. emerged Comments

20 .v.91 4 21 .v.91 5 22.v .91 5 23 .v.91 12 One with crumpled wings 24.v.91 3 One with only one wing 25.v.91 4 26.v .91 3 27 .v.9"1 3 28.v .91 0 Scottish experience

The Time: JulY 13-20 1991 The place: Kindrogan Field Studies centre, Pitlochry (to be recommended) The Leader: Barry Goater (renowned for pugs, pyralids and of ) The weather: mixed The experience: delightful and totally exhausting!

Two 125w MVL and a Rothamstead wintergreen, starry saxifrage, trap were run nightlY in the butterwort, bog asPhodel, grounds of the Field Centre. fragrant orchid, bog mYrtle, The traps were switched off bell heather and cross-leaved at 4.30 a.m. and sorted heath. Some large heath before breakfast. Gold sPot butterflies came out to sun (Pl-usia festucael was very themselves. The micromoths common; Welsh wave (Venusia OLethreutes schul,ziana and cambrica) came to light as viburnana were did muslin footman (Nudaria disturbed from low herbage. mundana), Common Lutestring (Ochropacha duPJaris ), PurPIe Fruitfui (Cosnorhoe oceJ-l-ata ) bar ttmicrott and several northern Another day, at Rannoch Moor, which were new to me. we were pleased to find Rannoch rush (Scheuchzeria Daytime nothing! pal-ustris ) almost submerged in a shallow 1ake. Two Daily outings to IikeIY interesting pyralids of the localities amPlY comPensated Moor were CatoPria margariteLfa in value for van sickness and C ericeTl-a. PrettY and the cost of Petrol! At pinion ( biandiata) GIen Festie, SmokeY Wave was al-so caught here in the ( ternata) was daytime. disturbed from the heather as were Narrow-winged Pug The Braes of Foss, also wet (Eupitheeia nanata angusta) underfoot, is famous for its and Satyr Pug (8. satrrata). bog myrtle and its associated On Carn Ban Mor, GreY moth the Rannoch brindled Mountain CarPet (tntePhria beauty (Lycia TaPPonaria fJavicinctata) was sought and scotica) . After diligent found on fences desPite the searching a was found moth's cryPtic colouring. on the foodPlant. At this Four Northern Eggars locatj-on, yellow mountain (LasiocamPa guercus call-unae) saxifrage formed beautiful refused to be caught and bright starry Patches along near the snow-Iine one the smaI1 streams and water newly-emerged female Black courses. Mountain Moth (Psodas coracinal was resting on To cateh them, roPe them! stony ground. A method of attracting moths, The plants here were also previously unknown to me' something to behold: an amazi-ng was tried one night at Lunan mixture of alPine- and fir- Bay. It is called "sugar- club mosses, crow-, cloud-, roping" and consisted of bear- and whortle-berrY, p3 mountain azal-ea, cow wheat, contd Scoltish e:rperience contd. One evening, for something different, we joined the soaking 2m lengths of rope birders on a walk up Glen washing line (previously Fearnagh and were rewarded boiled to extract impurities with good sightings of hen and soften) in a saturated harrier, buzzard, peregrine solution of cheap red wine and osprey. Some scarce and suqar. The soaked lengths silver Y's (Syngrapha of line were then strung interrogationis/ were found along tops of fences and restj-ng on fence posts and visited by us at half-hourly a small pearl-bordered intervals. As you can imagine, fritj-llary butterfly was seen setting this up was a messy in the low plants. and sticky business and much finger-licking was ButterfLy dance necessary! We went along with torches to see if any- On the 17th we sweated in thing had come to the ropes shirt sleeves up to Rossie and were amazed and aghast Moor entertained on the wav at the sheer numbers of moths by the dancing of numerous greedily imbibing the sweet ringlet, small heath and concoction. Their eyes meadow brown butterflies. reflected the torch light One ringlet was the form making a 1ong, many-jewelled aborita without the usual necklace stretching out into rings. We were shown how to the darkness. It was indeed hunt the bulrush wainscot moth an unparalleled experience. (Nonagria typhae) The Archer, s dart (Agrotis simple clue is to look for vestigiaiia) came to 1i9ht the brown or yellowing central in this area. Ieaf of the foodplant, Typha l-atifoLia. Split the main Sugar-roping was tried again stem and inside there will at Braes of Foss one night. certainly be larvae and pupae Several great brocades of this moth species. (Eurois occul,ta) and a heath rj-vulet (Perizoma minorata JuIy beIle (Scotopteryx ericetata) were attracted to l-uridata plumbarial and ling the solution. Excitement pug (Eupitheeia goossensiata) was also caused by Scotch were flushed from the herbage annulet (Gnophos obscurata) along with the micromoths and northern arches (epanea Pl-eurota bicosteJla, Eupoecilia zeta assinilis) which were angustana and Ol-ethreutes caught at light the same palustrana. Again, the flora night. here is worth a mention: northern marsh orchid, Grass Doing it naturally! of Parnassus, sundew, flea sedge, bogbean and coralroot Another method of moth orchi-d. catching used in the grounds of Kindrogan was netting in Coastai watch the vicinity of a natural attractant. rn this case, Another hot afternoon was the heady scent from a vast spent by the coast at Red patch of melancholy Lhistle Head. Before attempting proved irresistible to many the perilous descent to the moth species. Netting here beach, I stood on the cliff- at dusk was another active top guietly absorbing the and exciting experience. sea, scenery and bird-Iife. contd p4

3 Scottislr exPerience contd. Gall causes problems!

Amongst the sPecies seen were In the spring issue of the puffins, guillemots, shag, journal Cecidology (British razorbills, eider ducks, Plant GaI1 Society, vol 6) kittiwakes, fulmar, gannets LES members Les Jones and and peregrine all rather Chris Leach report on the wonderful! f was just delving dilemma of sorting out a into my peanut bag for a gall found on broad-Ieaved second helping when I was pepperwort near Kirby Muxloe joined by a humming-bird castle. Virtually all of hawk moth (MacrogTossum the plants in a patch of stel-Latarum) straight off about 40 square meLres showed the sea. It hovered bY the galling of the flowers. bag as if queueing for a nut! To date the gall seems to be A little way down from the new to the British Isles and cliff top, the land oPened members are asked to let Les into a small Protected know of any stands of the meadow. Large Patches of pepperwort, whether galled maiden pink, in full bloom' or not, in order to establish were attracting Painted the distribution in the lady, meadow brown, Iarge county of this rarity. and green-veined whites and cornmonblue butterflies. Lychnis (nadena bicturis) Hummingbird hawk larvae were found in the Pods of bladder camPion. Colonies at Coalville /'fl'.q of Agonopterix heracfeana (Iarvae and puPae) were found i-n hogweed stems. MacrogTossun s teL l-atarum, the hummingbird hawk moth, Fantastic wee beastie! was reported as being seen in a Coalville garden on After the steeP descent, not Sunday 29.ix.91 at 4 o'clock one to be tackled bY the in the afternoon. frail or infirm, the cliff sloped off to a more gentle This species is a recognised gradient and merged with the migrant to the British Isles beach. Bird's foot trefoil, but has anybody else seen thrift, poppies, wood vetch, one this year yet? bloody cranesbill and manY other plants intermingled Let us know! carelessly to Produce a natural, rich, colourful habitat; food and shelter to many species. fantastic wee beastie! Like all these newly emerged This place was a secluded species we found, just so haven bathed in the warmth much better than the Picture. of the sun and the sounds of the sea. I was just imagining Each and every day had its where f'd build mY cottage own rewards and surPrises. when a delighted crY went uP. The scattered "mothers" converged and exclaimed on Jane I,IcPhaiT the delicate beautY of the thrift clearwing (Benbecia muscaefornis). What a Dragonflies contd. In profusion!

Maggie would like to know 1991 seems to have been the whether this is an unusual year of the gaII caused by "launching" or is this the the cynipid wasp Cynips sort of event that will- guercusfolii. The galls happen each year. form on the underside of the leaf and grow to Other species seen: CaTopteryx between 15 and 20mm diameter splendens (females) during tending to be in groups of June 1989 with Ishnura three to five per 1eaf. elegans adults in June 1989 and May/June 1990. Nymphs In 1991 many of the at of this species were also Martinshaw Wood have shown seen in the pond and adulLs a high level of infestation. were noted emerging on 21 .v.91 and 23.v.91 .

Synpetrum striofatum was Elephant (small!) (r'tz- laying eggs in the pond in August/September 1989 and at Barwell again at the same time in 1990 . Aeshna cyanea and Deilephila porcelTus, the Aeshna grandis were about small elephant hawk moth, was in August/September 1989 taken at a Barwell MVL on while the former species 6.vi.91 . This i-s only the was observed egg-laying in third record for the south August 1990. west of the county the others also being from a (different) Summer 1991 pond watching Barwell garden on 24.ix.85 should be very interesting! and 30.ix.85 feeding at evening primroses. Maggie Frankum

First record of eomma butterfly for countlf??

!'There have':,rbeen:several This extract is :taken,from rqk letters in the Times recently a letter written by one of as to the spread of the Leicestershj-re' s prominent comma,butterfly ( Vanessa naturalistsr,, Frank Bouskell, c-aLbum) so named from the to the Leicester Mail issued silver comma or crescent on on the 30th August 1930 the underside of the wings. On Thursday afternoon I Is this the earllest:record watched one'in my garden on of Lhe species in the county? the flowersi:: f Budd1eia.,l With Tf you come across such ,'.' it were several red admirals. stories/letters eLc in old It was evidently freshly newspapers f magazines please hatched. The last time I send them: in. They are an sa*,i,it: *as,,6n, flowers of " important part of the history ragwort in North g,fales in of entomology in the county September 1896, in numbers. and shoutd Oe ou:: archives ! r know, of no Leicestershire ,in record in the last fifty [i am grateful. to Maggie years.tt Frankum for drawing my attention to this iteml.

5 Dipterists north!

The Diptera Recording Scheme is the organisation which co- ordinates the coLlection of distribution records of certain groups of for the Biological Records Centre at Monks frooa. It also acts as an information exchange with Newslet,ters being circulated etc. Every year it organises a Summer field meeting. This year was the destination with one week on the and another at, ( just north of Inverness ) .

Seven of us met on Skye and Sait narsh/freshwater fl-ushes over the course of the week next to saLt marsh we visited most of the island, from Armadale BaY in the 9{e visited four sites which, sout.h to Duntulm in the although insignificant by north and Broadford in the the standards of some southern east to Waterstein in the salt marshes, were quite west. We also sPent an good for northern Scotland. afternoon on t,he Isle of The most notable find was Raasay, a 15 minute ferrY Lejogaster splendida. crossing from SkYe. The only parts we did not survey Gorges/river vaTTeys were the very far west of the island (it was raining The gorges of Coille Thoga- when we went there! ) and the bhaig NNR and Geary Ravine montane region of the Cuillins SSSI again were impressive (this was in the clouds for places but proved to be most of stay! ). The onlY more product.ive for those reaIly good weather elas on recording craneflies. However, the first day the rest of the hoverfLies PTatycheirus the time it was mixed. It nieiseni and Sphegina cluniPes was very much a case of proved to be fairly common. seeing which direction the The river Rha, a Woodland blue (or grey! ) skY was and Trust nature reserve at Vig' then heading that way. proved to be the best hoverflY site that I visited on SkYe. I was mostly interested in The fourteen species included the hoverflies although Sericomyia Tappona, Leucozona between us we recorded a gJaucia and -L Laternatia. much wider range of diPtera. We visited a total of 25 lletLand sites covering a large variety of habitats. This was the most widesPread habitat, ranging from damP Sea cLiffs meadows, through marsh to emergent vegetation at the The black sand of the beach' edge of lakes . Pl-atYcheirus framed by basalt cliffs, ramsarensis was seen at made Talisker BaY quite an several of the sites visited. impressive P1ace. Although The journey across to Muir it started ral-ning whilst we of Ord was uneventful excePt - were there, w€ did manage for our one stop collecting to see the site's streakY beetles and craneflY larvae winged varietY of burnet in thick fog and horizontal moth. rain at the toP of contd p7

6 Dipterists fly north contd in 1957 and has since been colonising spruce plantations Pass (at 2t053 feet one of around the country. the highest roads in Britain). Awkward fandowners and As with the week on Skye, beautiful Spey the weather was mixed, and again it was a case of We also visited several short following the patches of blue range sites on the Black IsIe, sky. However, by using this the best of these being technique we managed to miss Braelangwell Wood SSSI. On most of the rain unlike some each of our two visits here, of the other 20 dipterists! one member of the group had Over the week we visited 21 to spend ages chatting with sites. Unfortunately we the landowner to try and tal-k were unable to visit one of him into letting us onto the the best sites in the area, land and to listen to his Morrich Moor, ds it is an RAF long list of complaints about bombing range and the week we the NCC and just about every- were there they were clearing body else! The wood is unexploded bombs! However, mixed Scots pine and the areas we did visit on the with several springs and whole did not disappoint us. marshy areas. The most notable species seen here In the sand dunes were PTatycheirus occultus, Chamaesyrphus scaevoides We visited Coul Links near and Trichopsomyia fl-avitarsis. Dornoch, and Culbin Sands Several pupal cases and an near Nairn. Both are large adult of the soldierfly areas of sand dunes although Stratiomys spp were found in most of Culbin Sands has one of the marshy areas disappeared under 40 sguare proving that this species kilometres of Forestry breeds here. Commission plantation leaving just a narrow strip of dunes The Spey valley provided a and salt marsh beLween the chance to see some spectacular and the sea. The flies scenery and another LES seen included Cheil-osia member up here moth trapping! Tonguk, C scuteJ-1ata, the The river Feshie is a real1y soldierfLy Nenotel-us uliginosus nice example of a river in and the large grossa its natura] condition, almost whose larvae are parasitic untouched by man. Huge on oak eggar . shingle banks, heathy grassland and woods are spread The old oxbows, riverside across the river's flood meadows and woodlands of plain. This area supports Strathglass and Urquhart PTatycheirus perpaTlidus Bay on Loch Ness generated and huge numbers of some interesting records with Sphaerophoria abbreviata. Xylota syTvarum at the lat.ter UnfortunaLely, thj-s is all site. The best hoverfly under threat from proposed site of the trip was at Comar flood prevention schemes at the southern end of and river "impoundments". Strathglass with 32 sPecies Indeed, there are already including Parasyrphus bulldozer tracks in the annuLatus and the spectacular shingle at the confluence of mimic Eriozona the Spey and the Feshie. syrphoides, a fly that was first recorded in Britain contd p8 Firethorn leaf-miner

PhyTlonorycter TeucographeTJa is a minute golden-brown moth whose caterpillars mine the leaves of the common garden Pyracantha. First discovered in Britain in 1989, its range aL present seems to be limited to the London area and Essex. H;*;;;;, it is tikely that, with increased awareness of its oa.nrt"nce and the likely spread. from its present locale, the moth will be recorded from elsewhere in Lhe country in the not too distant future.

Eggs are laid on the uppef surface of leaves and the larva tunnels into the tissue along the midrib leaving a reddish- brown t.raiI. It. then eats out into the leaf causing a bl.ist,er, This is silvery and transluscent and a white grub can sometimes be seen, Finally the edges of the leaf are brought together to form a "pod" in which pupation occurs.

Tf you find mines on your firethorns send details to us and to br David:Nash (centre of::,Population Biology, Freepost, I Imperial College at Silwoodr Park, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7BS). ;i;i;-i;-"-;;;e-occasion when the means is availabre to rno.titot th Spread: of a new addition to the British fauna.

Dipterists flY norttr contd arcuatum.

The pine woods at CoYlumbridge 85 species in a77, 24 new! and Loch Garten were rather disappointing although we Over the two weeks I saw 85 did have good fun looking speci-es of hoverfly, 52 on for hoverfly larvae in the Skye and 74 at Muir of Ord. rot holes on the Pine trees Of these, 24 I had never (and got some funnY looks seen before and a further from some of the Passing 14 I had only seen once foreign tourists! ). previously. Some of these are northern species whilst Further east the Dorback others frequent places I Burn has cut through what I would never have thought to think are glacial morraines investigate. I have met and river sediments to create quite a few of the countrY's a sma1l area of inland sand active dipterists, learnt dunes and shingle in the a great deal of field craft middle of open moorland. and other t.echniques and have This produced several asilids been introduced to several (Rhadiurgus variabiLis? ) and new groups of flies which I another site for Pl-atYcheirus can now look for nearer home. Tamsarensis. A fantastic fortnight, well The last site we visited, at worth the trip! If the DiPtera Bridge of Avon, was a roadside are not your taste then verge and wooded cliff with meetings organised bY other several seepaqes along it- recording schemes I exPect On the umbel flowers here I will be just as good. found XyTota coeruLeiventris, X tarda and ChtYsotoxum NeiT Frankum Kirby Muxloe diarXr (or wlrat you see if you keep lrour elres open!)

July 17th 1991 the leaves before going to the soil to overwinter. There Iris asked me to look at the is only one generation a year." Solomon's SeaI in the garden. Some gardeners might wish Many of the leaves were to treat the plants! Contact skeletonised and were being insecticides, such as HCH, eaten by blue-grey larvae trichlorphon or malathion, which I thought may be should be used as soon as sawflies. I referred to the larvae are seen on the CoLLin's Guide to Pest, plant. I left mine to Diseases and Disorders of finish off their meal! Garden Pl-ants written by Stefan Buczacki and Keith JuJy 18th 1991 Harris and found that the larvae were of the Solomon's Some of the broad bean plants Seal sawfly Phynatocera were heavily infested with aterrima described as having black bean aphid (Aphis "blue-grey larvae up to 22mnt fabae). On examining the Iong, with black heads; feed plants I found just two in groups on leaves of CoccineLl-a 7-punctata (l spot Solomon's Seal and other ladybird) but a dozen or so polygonatums during the of their larvae devouring summer. The leaves are raPidlY the aphids at an enormous stripped when larvae are rate. The few plants were abundant. The larvae over- so badly infested that T had winter in cocoons in the soil to remove them but took great and adults emerge in May/ care to save the ladybirds June. Females lay e99s in and the larvae before I leaf stalks and larvae hatch disposed of the bean plants. about a week later. They then feed for about a month, Les Jones maJ-nly on the underside of Mothing to magical melodies

i .:4; . /'-t

"The temperature's dropping red twin spot-, common- and t ! '. t" and the wind's getting up sandy carpets took up rest lf'r/ '/. a bit." Attempts to deter positions on the cloth and l\ .1 r-,1 I my keener colleagues from a popJ-ar hawk homed in like flt, I another all night session a small bat. Several micros feII on deaf ears. Rising were potted for "further study" at 4 a.m. every morning to while others were noted and sort the garden trap was freed. taking its toll! This was aII turning out Dusking better t.han expected. "oh bed where is thy piIlow?" Revving up to a little was temporarily shelved; "dusking" we ambled along excitement now, droop later the Ketton track in the was the feeling of the gloomr our nets whisking moment. There was a healthy over unsuspecting fliers. flurry round the light and 'lThere' s, one ! There' s one !:" the list of species steadily Ha! Let the others do the grew longer /'\ running about for once. The lut \ macro, CiJix gluacata, and Then it happened: piping (t sounds and melodious trills i\"\, the micros lVematopogon Tncurvaria were heard over the noise r'f'\ swanmerdanel-La and lrV oefLmannielta were caught this of the generator. We moved Ita gall along to hear bett,er and f- wdt" we found a on (Origanum, were treated to the maqical marjoram vuJgare ) ': caused by the mite Aceria music of the nightingaie. origani. Further on we Many hours Iater, apparently looked at larvae' of ,'AgonoPterix the sole user of the locaf J-iberosa spun up in leaves airwaves, he was still of hairy St:John's wort singing his hearl ouL. we (Hypericum hirsutun). could have Iistened a1l night but, by that time, not long Light on! before dawn, the,bal1 of the pillow won! Later, dt light, streamer was r\?,?rr , flying with shoulder-striPe. irr-\.{* i l Broken-barred-, silver ground-, Jane McPhaiL lr19 ,'o'lt t'" Committee lggl-z

Next copy date Chairman: Adrian RusseII (Leicester 4151 01 ) Secretary: Derek Lott (Leicester 473031) Treasurer: Jane McPhail Januarlf Ist ( Leicester 386188 ) Editor: Ray Morris (EarI Shilton 842145) tg92 Programmes: Indoor: Roger Key Outdoor: John MousIeY

10 at Browns Hill Quarry I99O

One of our newer members, Gianpiero Ferrari of Melton Mowbray, has contributed the following list of lepidoptera recorded during 1990 at the Browns Hill Quarry reserve in the east of the county. He also records moths at his home village in northern Ita1y! A11 the records are from m.v. Iight traps and the majority of species recorded have been photographed.

GEOMETRTDAE

Brimstone Magpie Bordered beauty I'lottled umber Bloodvein March Brindled beauty November Canary-shouldered thorn Peppered (melanic) Chimney sweeper Riband wave Clouded border Scalloped hazel Clouded magpie Scalloped oak Clouded silver Scarce umber Common carpet Scorched wing Common emerald Shaded broad bar Common pug Silver ground carpet Small engrailed Common white wave Sma1l phoenix Dotted border Small white wave Early Streamer Engrailed Water carpet Feathered thorn Waved umber Garden carpet beauty Green carpet Winter Latticed heath

SPHINGIDAE

Elephant hawk Poplar hawk Eyed hawk

LASTOCAMPTDAE

December Lackey Drinker Pale oak eggar Grass eggar

ARCTIIDAE

Buff ermine Garden tiger Cinnabar Ruby tiger Common footman Muslin Dingy footman White ermine

NOTODONTIDAE

Buff tip PaIe prominent Coxcomb prominent Pebble prominent Figure of eight Poplar kitten Iron Prominent Puss Lesser swallow prominent contd pl 2

17 Browns Hill lePidoPtera contd

NOCTUIDAE

Angle shades Hebrew character AntIer HeraId Beaded chestnut Ingrailed clay Beautiful golden Y Bird's wingl Lesser broad-bordered Brick yellow underwing Broad-barred white Lesser yellow underwing Broad bordered Yellow underwing Lunar underwing Brown line, bright eye Marbled beauty Brown spot Pinion Mother Shipton Burnet comPanion Mouse Burnished brass Mullein Centre-barred sallow Old Lady Common quaker Pale shouldered brocade Common rustic Plain golden Y Common wainscot Poplar grey Copper underwing Powdered quaker Dark arches Purple clay Dark chestnut Red chestnut Dark sword grass Red line quaker Dot Red underwing Dunbar Sallow Early grey SaLelIite Feathered gothic Setaceous hebrew character Flame shoulder Silver Y Flounced rustic Smal1 sguare spot Frosted orange Snout Green brindled crescent Sprawler Gothic Square spot rustic Heart and dart Straw underwing

LYMANTRIIDAE HEPIALIDAE

Pale tussock Common swift White satin Ghost swift Yellowtail Orange swift

COSSIDAE ZYGAENIDAE

Goat moth Six spot burnet

DREPANIDAE YPONOMEUTIDAE

Chinese character Yponomeuta padeTTa Pebble hooktiP

PTEROPHORIDAE PYRALIDAE

PLatyptiT ia gonodactYTa Crambus pascueTla PJatyptiIia ochtodactYLa Eurrhypara hortul-ata Pterophorus PentadactYJa Pleuroptya ruraLis Pterophorus ttidactY 7a Pyrausta aurata contd pl 3

12 Browns Hill lepidoptera contd

BUTTERFLIES Editor's comments:

Brimstone The clouded yellow seems to Clouded yellow be the 3rd county record Comma for 1990. The green hair- Common blue streak is a welcome sighting for Rut1and. Gatekeeper Green hairstreak Amongst the moths the clouded Holly blue magpie is the fifth record Large skipper for the county since 1972! Large white The records for the grass Meadow brown eggar and the goat moths need Orange tip vaLidation it will be Paj-nted lady interesting to see any Peacock photographs that Gianpiero Red admiral has of these ! The Ringlet status of the bird's wing Small copper in the county needs to be Small heath checked. Small tortoiseshell Small white If these do check out, then Speckled wood Browns Hill Quarry is a WaI1 little bit special ! - ! Possible oleander Want€d harn'estmen trir) Anyone finding harvestmen in at Loughborough! Leicestershire are asked to save them for identification by Jon Daws who is researching Reports have reached us of their distribution in the a sighting of a hawk moth county with the aim of at Loughborough brush works publishing a preliminary Atlas which may have been an in the near future. oleander hawk (Daphnis nerii) "

Specimens should be preserved This would be only the second in 70t alcohol which can record of this rare migrant be obtained from Jon c/o for Leicestershire, t,he Derek Lott, Biology, Leicester other record being in 1901! Museum.

T3 WINTER PROGRAMME T99I.2

A11 meetings will be held at the Leicester Museum, New Walk Leicester unless otherwise indicated.

Saturday November 15th MICROLEPIDOPTERA WORKSHOP

This is our third attempt at holding this identification workshop with Mark Parsons, Nona Finch and Jane McPhail' Meet at Leicester Museum at 10.30 a.m. The Museum collections will be availabLe for inspection but do try and bring specimens along for identification'

Thursday December sth THE DEBATE CONSERVATION OF PEAT BOG INSECTS

Brian Eversham of the Biological Records centre at Monk, s Wood will expound on the difficulties to insects because of human exploitation of peat bogs' 7'30 p'm' at the Museum.

Thursday JanuarY 30th HISTORICAL ARCHTVES IN ENTOMOLOGY

David sheppard of English Nature will explore the_means of finding- out about entomology through historical sources a must to anyone thinking of developing reviews of any groups in their area- 7.30 p'm' at the Museum.

Saturday March 7th FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATE WORKSHOP

John Bullock of Leicester University and Martin Drake of English Nature introduce us to the watery side of entomology. This meeting to be held on the second floor of the Aaiian Building at Leicester University at 10.30 a.m. Live and dead material will be available but feel free to go pond/ditch dipping beforehand to add variety it shouldn't be too cold for Marchl

Thursday March 1 2th LOCAL LEPIDOPTERAN ACTIVITIES

An opportunity for the lepidopterists in the Society tcl tark-ot their own field work. Also proposals for a coordinated approach to field work during the 1992 season will be discussed. 7.30 p.m. at the Museum'

74