Dorset moth retrospective - part 1

Now living in North Yorkshire, I actually started mothing in Dorset, and was lucky enough to live in a semi-detached cottage in a place called Lyons Gate, just north of Cerne Abbas in central north Dorset.  It is a very rural location with very little light pollution, and on the north facing slope of the chalk ridge, bordering the Blackmore vale.  As such, Lyons Gate was in the rain shadow of the hills, and was the wettest place in Dorset, having twice as much rain as Portland Bill on the coast.

The garden itself had a few flowering shrubs, but was surrounded by a mixture of managed woodland, some old stands of mature natural woodland, birch and sallow scrub, an old golfcourse that was managed as natural downland, and paddocks.  There were a number of small pools nearby, mainly managed for fishing.

I trapped in the garden from August 2003 to the end of October 2006, usually with a 125w MV Robinson trap, often supplemented by a 22w actinic Skinner trap, and when rain threatened sometimes just the actinic in the porch.  In those three years I amassed a garden lepidoptera list of 524 species, including a good selection of local, scarce and migrant species.

The real highlights had to be Clifden Nonpareil, a spectacular migrant (although possibly a tiny breeding population in Dorset), and two specimens of Spatalistis bifasciana, a tiny micro moth, which apart from a handfull of records on Cranborne Chase in 2003, was last seen in the county in 1890.

 

Spatalistis bifasciana

Clifden Nonpareil

 

Here are a list of the 'notable B' species caught in the garden.  Notable B species are those that are nationally scarce, occuring in between 31 and 100 ten km squares in the UK.

 
Code Taxon Vernacular Individuals
220   Nemapogon clematella 1

844   Syncopacma larseniella 1

1034 Spatalistis bifasciana 2
1292 Calamotropha paludella 1
1343 Eudonia delunella 14
1467 Ancylosis oblitella 1
1633 Eriogaster lanestris Small Eggar 1
1676 Cyclophora annularia Mocha 4
1751 Lampropteryx otregiata Devon Carpet 1
1793 Euphyia biangulata Cloaked Carpet 10
2045 Eilema caniola Hoary Footman 1
2260 Conistra rubiginea Dotted Chestnut 1

Other species which occur locally within Britain, and turned up in the garden included the following:

Code Taxon Vernacular Individuals 
1314 Catoptria margaritella Pearl-band Grass Veneer 1

1316 Catoptria falsella 3
1361 Pyrausta aurata 2
1365 Pyrausta despicata 7
1425 Galleria mellonella Wax Moth 1
1470 Euzophera pinguis 26
1474 Ephestia parasitella unicolorella 1
1485 Phycitodes maritima 1
1647 Watsonalla cultraria Barred Hook-tip 2
1660 Polyploca ridens Frosted Green 2
1673 Hemistola chrysoprasaria Small Emerald 15
1680 Cyclophora punctaria Maiden's Blush 18
1681 Cyclophora linearia Clay Triple-lines 8
1692 Scopula immutata Lesser Cream Wave 2
1705 Idaea fuscovenosa Dwarf Cream Wave 4
1739 Epirrhoe rivata Wood Carpet 1
1794 Euphyia unangulata Sharp-angled Carpet 11
1835 Eupithecia tripunctaria White-spotted Pug 1
1874 Euchoeca nebulata Dingy Shell 3
1879 Lobophora halterata Seraphim 1
1882 Pterapherapteryx sexalata Small Seraphim 7
1883 Acasis viretata Yellow-barred Brindle 7
1888 Ligdia adustata Scorched Carpet 17
1890 Macaria alternata Sharp-angled Peacock 54
1903 Plagodis pulveraria Barred Umber 9
1904 Plagodis dolabraria Scorched Wing 41
1910 Apeira syringaria Lilac Beauty 3
1918 Selenia lunularia Lunar Thorn 4
1945 Cleorodes lichenaria Brussels Lace 50
1949 Paradarisa consonaria Square Spot 4
1978 Hyloicus pinastri Pine Hawkmoth 1
1992 Deilephila porcellus Small Elephant Hawkmoth 7
2005 Peridea anceps Great Prominent 20
2015 Drymonia ruficornis Lunar Marbled Brown 13
2019 Clostera curtula Chocolate-tip 1
2029 Euproctis chrysorrhoea Brown-tail
1033 Lymantria monacha Black Arches 37
2037 Miltochrista miniata Rosy Footman 68
2038 Nudaria mundana Muslin Footman 1
2039 Atolmis rubricollis Red-necked Footman 43
2040 Cybosia mesomella Four-dotted Footman 4
2043 Eilema sororcula Orange Footman 13
2049 Eilema depressa Buff Footman 105
2068 Callimorpha dominula Scarlet Tiger 3
2078 Nola confusalis Least Black Arches 7
2135 Xestia agathina Heath Rustic 2
2136 Naenia typica Gothic 8
2157 Lacanobia w-latinum Light Brocade 2
2196 Mythimna pudorina Striped Wainscot 1
2214 Cucullia chamomillae Chamomile Shark 1
2235 Lithophane semibrunnea Tawny Pinion 2
2236 Lithophane hepatica Pale Pinion 2
2268 Parastichtis suspecta Suspected 1
2279 Acronicta aceris Sycamore 5
2281 Acronicta alni Alder Moth 5
2291 Craniophora ligustri Coronet 164
2301 Dypterygia scabriuscula Bird's Wing 1
2312 Ipimorpha subtusa Olive 1
2335 Apamea scolopacina Slender Brindle 1
2338 Oligia versicolor Rufous Minor 9
2370 Archanara geminipuncta Twin-spotted Wainscot 1
2377 Arenostola phragmitidis Fen Wainscot 1
2379 Coenobia rufa Small Rufous 8
2423 Nycteola revayana Oak Nycteoline 4
2466 Lygephila pastinum Blackneck 1
2473 Laspeyria flexula Beautiful Hook-tip 32
2484 Schrankia costaestrigalis Pinion-streaked Snout 4

And finally, migrant moths turned up from time to time and although nowhere as many as the coastal trappers caught, they did add a bit of spice to nightly hauls.

Code Taxon Vernacular Individuals

464   Plutella xylostella Diamond-back Moth 15
1262 Cydia amplana 11395 Udea ferrugalis Rusty-dot Pearl 7
1398 Nomophila noctuella Rush Veneer 112
1408 Palpita vitrealis 1
1716 Rhodometra sacraria Vestal 14
1720 Orthonama obstipata Gem 1
1972 Agrius convolvuli Convolvulus Hawkmoth 1
1984 Macroglossum stellatarum Hummingbird Hawkmoth 1
2051 Lithosia quadra Four-spotted Footman 6
2091 Agrotis ipsilon Dark Swordgrass 6
2119 Peridroma saucia Pearly Underwing 3
2194 Mythimna albipuncta White-point 3
2195 Mythimna vitellina Delicate 1
2385 Spodoptera exigua Small Mottled Willow 1
2400 Helicoverpa armigera Scarce Bordered Straw 5
2403 Heliothis peltigera Bordered Straw 1
2441 Autographa gamma Silver Y 65
2451 Catocala fraxini Clifden Nonpareil 1

Further selected photos to follow...

My Yorkshire Garden list in just short of a similar timescale stands at ....37 species.