CHESHIRE (VICE COUNTY 58) MOTH REPORT FOR 2014 Authors: Steve H. Hind and Steve Holmes Date: July 2015 Cheshire moth report 2014 Introduction An interest in moth recording is currently enjoying an era of increasing popularity. The recent publication of the micro-moth field guide by Sterling, Parsons & Lewington in 2012 has especially helped recorders with the smaller species and this has resulted in over 22,000 new micro-moth records during the year. Correspondingly, there has also been an up tilt in the amount of macro-moth data submitted by observers, culminating in 2014, for the first time ever, in over 51,000 records reaching the County Recorder. The graphs below clearly show the upward trend and long may it continue. Put into a different context, the County Moth database in totality has now reached over a million records, with a shade over 802,000 macros and 202,000 micros, thus 2014 alone accounts for 7.27% of the entire database. P a g e 2 | 35 Cheshire moth report 2014 Weather It was a mild, wet winter with few frosty periods during the early months. These generally mild conditions continued through the spring, enabling reasonably good catches in the light traps. There was plenty of sunshine during the summer months and with warm nights in July several good catches were achieved during the month. August was the coldest since 1993, so numbers of the late summer species were down. September was the driest for 50 years and the mild autumn continued throughout November, providing us more opportunities to look for larvae. Summary Four micro-moths were added to the county list during the year; one as a larval mine and the other three attracted to light. Larval mines of Phyllonorycter roboris (Zeller) were found at Broadbottom and an adult Elachista subocellea (Stephens) at Alsager, both of these have probably remained undetected in Cheshire for many years. Blastobasis rebeli Karsholt & Sinev was caught at Wilmslow and is a recent arrival, whereas Ethmia terminella Fletcher, from Alsager, is a rare migrant. Time and effort dictate that this report cannot be a complete analysis of 75,000+ records; it does however itemise all 127 macro-moth species that were recorded 10 or fewer times during the year as well as some of the most notable micro-moths. This represents something in the order of 30% of all macro-moths and 10% in total of all species reported (970). Throughout what follows, header information relating to each species comprises: 3.004 Gold Swift Hepialus hecta (Linnaeus, 1758) (16) Which, reading left to right detail: Incoming Agassiz, Beavan & Heckford species number Species’ vernacular name Species’ taxonomic name Species’ Author(s) Outgoing Bradley and Fletcher number P a g e 3 | 35 Cheshire moth report 2014 3.004 Gold Swift Hepialus hecta (Linnaeus, 1758) (16) One to light at Ness Gardens on 13th July (ES) was the only record. 4.005 Stigmella betulicola (Stainton, 1856) (110) Larval mines at Bidston Hill on 21st September (MB, SHH, HJ) and Elton on 5th October (SH). 4.020 Stigmella paradoxa (Frey, 1858) (82) A single leaf mine in a roadside Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna at Gawsworth on 4th August (SHH) was in a different area of Cheshire than all our previous records. 4.024 Stigmella magdalenae (Klimesch, 1950) (104) Larval mines at Brockholes Wood, Crowden on 9th September; Todd Brook Valley on 16th & 18th September (SHH). 4.044 Stigmella continuella (Stainton, 1856) (64) Vacated leaf mines at Bidston Hill on 21st September (MB, SHH, HJ). 4.074 Ectoedemia sericopeza (Zeller, 1839) (21) Three records of larval mines in the winged seeds of Norway Maple Acer platanoides at Ness Gardens on 13th August and 12th & 22nd September (MB). This is the fourth county site and the first from the western side of Cheshire. 4.075 Ectoedemia louisella (Sircom, 1849) (22) A larval mine in Field Maple Acer campestre samara at Audlem on 27th September (SHH) is the 3rd county record. 4.077 Ectoedemia weaveri (Stainton, 1855) (43) 23 tenanted larval mines at Brushes, Stalybridge on 9th March and at a number of sites on Withinleach Moor on 12th March (SHH). 7.003 Nemophora cupriacella (Hübner, 1819) (146) One to light at Great Sutton on 24th July (MB) is the 3rd county record. 8.001 Incurvaria pectinea Haworth, 1828 (129) One male at Lower Withington on 18th May and larval feeding signs at Warrington Common on 14th May, Big Wood, Withington on 18th May, including 63 larval ‘cut-outs’ on a single birch leaf, Walkerwood Reservoir on 22nd June and Danes Moss on 1st July (SHH). P a g e 4 | 35 Cheshire moth report 2014 11.006 Taleporia tubulosa (Retzius, 1783) (181) 295 larval cases at Big Wood, Withington on 18th May, included 103 on a single oak Quercus sp. trunk. This becomes the most easterly site in Cheshire. Also three cases at Bulkeley Hill on 1st June (SHH). 12.010 Morophaga choragella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) (196) One to light at Moore on 20th July (MC) is the 3rd county record. 12.026 Common Clothes Moth Tineola bisselliella (Hummel, 1823) (236) Several adults were caught in pheromone traps in a house at Adlington during 2014 (SHH). These are the first confirmed records since the 1950’s. 12.040 Monopis imella (Hübner, 1813) (231) One to light at Alsager on 19th July (MD) is the first county record since 1953. 15.003 Caloptilia populetorum (Zeller, 1839) (281) Following the arrival of this species into Cheshire during 2013, there were three additional records of adults at light during 2014; at Alsager on 16th March & 28th April (MD) and Upton, Chester on 2nd August (RW). 15.012 Caloptilia semifascia (Haworth, 1828) (290) Larval mines at Bowdon on 27th August (RH, SHH, BTS), Bidston on 21st September (MB, SHH, HJ), Audlem on 27th September, Reddish Vale on 1st October and Astbury Mere on 1st November (SHH). 15.017 Calybites phasianipennella (Hübner, 1813) (296) Two to light at Wybunbury Moss on 21st May (BB) and one to light at Elton on 20th July (SH), as well as larval mines on Sheep’s Sorrel Rumex acetosella at Bidston Hill on 21st September (MB, HJ, SHH). P a g e 5 | 35 Cheshire moth report 2014 15.035 Phyllonorycter roboris (Zeller, 1839) (316) ** The first county record. Two larval mines were found on the lower branches of an oak Quercus sp. by the bank of Hurstclough Brook, Broadbottom on 9th August (SHH); one mine had been predated whilst the other was retained for rearing and emerged indoors on 9th April 2015. 15.041 Phyllonorycter platani (Staudinger, 1870) (321a) Prior to 2013, this species was known only from the Stockport area SJ89 & 98, where larval mines were first discovered on London Plane Platanus hybrida near Stockport Cemetery in 2006. Further mines were found in the town centre during 2009/2011 and at Hazel Grove in 2011. During 2013 plane trees were checked across the county and platani was found at a further 19 sites, including the following new hectads SJ27, 28, 37, 47, 67, 76, 77, 78, 87 & 88. A further 14 new sites were discovered during 2014, including in new hectads SJ46, 86, 97 & 99, (BTS, GR, HJ, MB, SHH, SJM). The map shows the county distribution at the tetrad level. If anyone is aware of London Plane growing elsewhere in the county, especially in any of the remaining hectads, could they let me have details of the site, so that we can check them for platani in the autumn. 0321a Phyllonorycter platani 1 Records for Year 2000 onwards [2km] Records for Years before 2000 [2km] Records for Years before 1980 [2km] SD SE 9 8 38 Records 0 Individuals 7 36 Sites 6 5 First Recorded in 2006 Last Recorded in 2014 4 Records for Year 2000 onwards [2km] Earliest: Records for Years before 2000 [2km] Latest: Records for Year before 1980 [2km] 3 SJ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SK 1 2 15.048 Phyllonorycter junoniella (Zeller, 1846) (328) Larval mines were found at two new sites this spring; Staly Brushes on 9th March and near the Cat & Fiddle on 29th April (SHH). P a g e 6 | 35 Cheshire moth report 2014 15.053 Firethorn Leaf Miner Phyllonorycter leucographella (Zeller, 1850) (332a) A single larval mine was found on an elm Ulmus sp. seedling, which was growing through a Pyracantha bush at Hyde Park on 26th October; a new food plant (SHH, GR). 15.089 Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimic, 1986 (366a) To illustrate how abundant this species has now become, an attempt to estimate the number of larval mines on a tree at Willaston on 10th July produced a count of c.50,000; three trees at Thornton Green hosted c.451,500 mines on 12th July (SH). 16.014 Pseudoswammerdamia combinella (Hübner, 1786) (436) One to light at Upton, Chester on 22nd May (RW), is only the third record since Mansbridge (1940), who gave the county status as fairly common but local among blackthorn. 17.002 Ypsolopha nemorella (Linnaeus, 1758) (452) One to light at Delamere Forest on 9th August (MB, HD, HJ). 17.013 Ypsolopha vittella (Linnaeus, 1758) (463) One to light at Elton on 6th August (SH). 19.001 Orthotelia sparganella (Thunberg, 1788) (470) Singles to light at Moore on 22nd July (MC) and Shocklach on 29th July (SHH, AM). 19.011 Leek Moth Acrolepiopsis assectella (Zeller, 1839) (473) Singles to light at Shavington on 30th March (RB, TR), Poynton on 29th April (DB) and Upton, Chester on 28th & 31st October (RW).