November 1991

7
November 1991
DRAGONFLT BONANZA
IN KNIGHTON!
Two years dgo, LES member Maggie Frankum and her family built
Knighton garden.
The pond was
a pond (6m x 4m) in their
and throughout June of that year t.hey
filled
on 25. iii.89
saw many male LibeTl-uLa depressa over the pond and also
Throughout the
sighted a female laying eggs on 18.vi.89.
nymphs were seen lurking
at the
rest of the summer, dragonfly
at least twelve on 11.x.89.
bottom of the pond
In 1990, in late May and mid
again
June the Frankum family
saw male and female depressa
with nymphs of
together
sizes in the pond.
varying
This year on 19.v.91, quite
by chance, Maggie was present
was
when an adult dragonfly
emerging from its nymphal
Close examination
skin.
ten empty
showed a further
skins and another three
dragonflies
were seen to
As a result
a daily
emerge.
watch was kept which gave a
total
emergence of fifty
(see table
three dragonflies
below) .
cont p5
Emergence of Libe7Lu7a depressa from a garden
pond in Knighton,
Leicester
during 1991.
Date of
emergtence
20 .v.91
21 .v.91
22.v .91
23 .v.91
24.v.91
25.v.91
26.v .91
27 .v.9"1
28.v .91
Comments
No. emerged
4
5
5
12
3
4
3
3
0
One with
One with
crumpled wings
only one wing
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
moths of EuroPe)
The weather: mixed
exhausting!
and totally
delightful
The experience:
Two 125w MVL and a Rothamstead
in the
trap were run nightlY
grounds of the Field Centre.
The traps were switched off
at 4.30 a.m. and sorted
Gold sPot
before breakfast.
was very
(Pl-usia festucael
common; Welsh wave (Venusia
as
came to light
cambrica)
(Nudaria
footman
muslin
did
mundana), Common Lutestring
(Ochropacha duPJaris ), PurPIe
)
bar (Cosnorhoe oceJ-l-ata
ttmicrott
northern
and several
species which were new to me.
Daytime
nothing!
Daily outings to IikeIY
amPlY comPensated
localities
v
a
l
u
e for van sickness
in moth
At
and the cost of Petrol!
W
a
v
e
S
m
o
k
e
Y
GIen Festie,
was
(ScopuLa ternata)
heather
the
from
disturbed
Pug
as were Narrow-winged
(Eupitheeia
nanata angusta)
and Satyr Pug (8. satrrata).
On Carn Ban Mor, GreY
Mountain CarPet (tntePhria
was sought and
fJavicinctata)
desPite the
f
e
n
c
e
s
found on
c
olouring.
moth's cryPtic
Eggars
Four Northern
(LasiocamPa guercus call-unae)
to be caught and
refused
near the snow-Iine one
newly-emerged female Black
Mountain Moth (Psodas
on
was resting
coracinal
stony ground.
and
saxifrage,
starry
wintergreen,
bog asPhodel,
butterwort,
bog mYrtle,
orchid,
fragrant
bell heather and cross-leaved
Some large heath
heath.
came out to sun
butterflies
The micromoths
themselves.
schul,ziana and
OLethreutes
viburnana were
Aphelia
from low herbage.
disturbed
Fruitfui
Rannoch
Another day, at Rannoch Moor,
we were pleased to find
Rannoch rush (Scheuchzeria
pal-ustris ) almost submerged
Two
in a shallow 1ake.
pyralids
of the
interesting
Moor were CatoPria margariteLfa
PrettY
and C ericeTl-a.
(Perizoma biandiata)
pinion
was al-so caught here in the
daytime.
The Braes of Foss, also wet
is famous for its
underfoot,
bog myrtle and its associated
moth the Rannoch brindled
beauty (Lycia TaPPonaria
scotica) . After diligent
a larva was found
searching
At this
on the foodPlant.
yellow mountain
locatj-on,
formed beautiful
saxifrage
starry
bright
Patches along
the smaI1 streams and water
courses.
To cateh
them,
roPe
them!
moths,
A method of attracting
m
e'
t
o
u
n
k
n
o
w
n
p
r
e
v
i
o
u
s
l
y
a
l
s
o
The plants here were
L
unan
a
t
n
i
g
h
t
o
n
e
t
r
i
e
d
w
a
s
a
m
a
z
i
n
g
a
n
something to behold:
i
s
c
a
l
l
e
d
I
t
"
s
u
g
a
r
B
a
y
.
f
i
r
and
mixture of alPineo
f
c
o
n
s
i
s
t
e
d
a
n
d
r
o
p
i
n
g
"
club mosses, crow-, cloud-,
bear- and whortle-berrY,
contd p3
mountain azal-ea, cow wheat,
Scoltish
e:rperience contd.
soaking 2m lengths of rope
washing line (previously
impurities
to extract
boiled
in a saturated
and soften)
of cheap red wine
solution
The soaked lengths
and suqar.
of line were then strung
along tops of fences and
visited
by us at half-hourly
As you can imagine,
intervals.
this up was a messy
setting
business and
and sticky
was
much finger-licking
We went along
necessary!
with torches to see if anything had come to the ropes
and were amazed and aghast
at the sheer numbers of moths
greedily
imbibing the sweet
Their eyes
concoction.
the torch light
reflected
making a 1ong, many-jewelled
out into
necklace stretching
It was indeed
the darkness.
experience.
an unparalleled
(Agrotis
Archer, s dart
came to 1i9ht
vestigiaiia)
in this area.
again
was tried
Sugar-roping
n
i
g
ht.
F
o
s
s
o
n
e
B
r
a
e
s
o
f
at
g
r
e
a
t
b
r
o
c
a
d
e
s
Several
(Eurois occul,ta) and a heath
(Perizoma minorata
rj-vulet
to
were attracted
ericetata)
E
x
c
i
t
e
m
e
n
t
the solution.
was also caused by Scotch
(Gnophos obscurata)
annulet
arches (epanea
and northern
which were
zeta assinilis)
the same
caught at light
night.
Doing it
for something
One evening,
different,
we joined the
birders
on a walk up Glen
Fearnagh and were rewarded
with good sightings
of hen
harrier,
buzzard, peregrine
and osprey.
Some scarce
Y's (Syngrapha
silver
interrogationis/
were found
restj-ng on fence posts and
a small pearl-bordered
fritj-llary
butterfly
was seen
in the low plants.
ButterfLy
dance
On the 17th we sweated in
shirt
sleeves up to Rossie
Moor entertained
on the wav
by the dancing of numerous
ringlet,
small heath and
meadow brown butterflies.
was the form
One ringlet
without
aborita
the usual
rings.
We were shown how to
hunt the bulrush
wainscot moth
(Nonagria
The
typhae)
simple clue is to look for
central
the brown or yellowing
Ieaf of the foodplant,
Typha
l-atifoLia.
Split
the main
stem and inside
there will
certainly
be larvae and pupae
of this moth species.
(Scotopteryx
JuIy beIle
l-uridata plumbarial
and ling
pug (Eupitheeia
goossensiata)
from the herbage
were flushed
along with the micromoths
Pl-eurota bicosteJla,
Eupoecilia
angustana and Ol-ethreutes
palustrana.
Again, the flora
here is worth a mention:
northern marsh orchid,
Grass
f
l
ea
P
a
r
n
a
s
s
u
s
,
sundew,
of
bogbean
and
coralroot
sedge,
orchi-d.
naturally!
Another method of moth
catching used in the grounds
in
of Kindrogan was netting
of a natural
the vicinity
rn this case,
attractant.
the heady scent from a vast
patch of melancholy Lhistle
proved irresistible
to many
Netting here
moth species.
at dusk was another active
experience.
and exciting
Coastai
watch
was
Another hot afternoon
spent by the coast at Red
Before attempting
Head.
the perilous
descent to the
beach, I stood on the cliffabsorbing the
top guietly
sea, scenery and bird-Iife.
contd p4
3
Scottislr exPerience contd.
Gall causes problems!
Amongst the sPecies seen were
guillemots,
shag,
puffins,
eider ducks,
razorbills,
fulmar, gannets
kittiwakes,
all rather
and peregrine
f was just delving
wonderful!
into my peanut bag for a
when I was
second helping
joined by a humming-bird
hawk moth (MacrogTossum
off
stel-Latarum) straight
It hovered bY the
the sea.
bag as if queueing for a nut!
In the spring issue of the
journal
Cecidology (British
Plant GaI1 Society, vol 6)
LES members Les Jones and
Chris Leach report on the
out a
dilemma of sorting
gall
found on broad-Ieaved
pepperwort near Kirby Muxloe
Virtually
all of
castle.
the plants in a patch of
about 40 square meLres showed
galling
of the flowers.
way down from the
A little
top, the land oPened
cliff
into a small Protected
meadow. Large Patches of
bloom'
maiden pink, in full
were attracting
Painted
lady, meadow brown, Iarge
whites and
and green-veined
c o r n m o nb l u e b u t t e r f l i e s .
(nadena bicturis)
Lychnis
larvae were found in the Pods
Colonies
of bladder camPion.
heracfeana
of Agonopterix
(Iarvae and puPae) were found
i-n hogweed stems.
Fantastic
wee beastie!
After the steeP descent, not
bY the
one to be tackled
the cliff
or infirm,
frail
sloped off to a more gentle
gradient
and merged with the
foot trefoil,
Bird's
beach.
poppies, wood vetch,
thrift,
and manY
bloody cranesbill
other plants intermingled
to Produce a
carelessly
colourful
rich,
natural,
to
food and shelter
habitat;
many species.
This place was a secluded
haven bathed in the warmth
of the sun and the sounds of
I was just imagining
the sea.
where f'd build mY cottage
crY went uP.
when a delighted
"mothers"
The scattered
converged and exclaimed on
beautY of the
the delicate
(Benbecia
clearwing
thrift
What a
muscaefornis).
To date the gall seems to be
Isles and
new to the British
members are asked to let Les
know of any stands of the
pepperwort,
whether galled
or not, in order to establish
in the
the distribution
r
a
r
ity.
t
h
i
s
o
f
county
Hummingbird
at Coalville
hawk
/'fl'.q
MacrogTossun s teL l- atarum,
the hummingbird hawk moth,
was reported as being seen
garden on
in a Coalville
Sunday 29.ix.91 at 4 o'clock
in the afternoon.
This species is a recognised
Isles
migrant to the British
s
e
e
n
e
l
s
e
h
a
s
a
n
y
b
o
d
y
but
y
e
t
?
y
e
a
r
t
h
i
s
one
Let us know!
Like
wee beastie!
fantastic
e
m
e
r
g
e
d
n
e
w
l
y
all these
species we found, just so
than the Picture.
much better
Each and every day had its
own rewards and surPrises.
Jane
I,IcPhaiT
Dragonflies
In profusion!
contd.
Maggie would like to know
whether this is an unusual
or is this the
"launching"
sort of event that willhappen each year.
Other species seen: CaTopteryx
splendens (females) during
June 1989 with Ishnura
e l e g a n s a d u l t s i n J u n e 19 8 9
Nymphs
and May/June 1990.
of this species were also
seen in the pond and adulLs
were noted emerging on
21 .v.91 and 23.v.91 .
I n 19 9 1 m a n y o f t h e o a k s a t
Martinshaw Wood have shown
a high level of infestation.
Elephant (small!)
at Barwell
was
Synpetrum striofatum
laying
eggs in the pond in
A u g u s t / S e p t e m b e r 19 8 9 a n d
again at the same time in
Aeshna cyanea and
1 990 .
Aeshna grandis were about
i n A u g u s t / S e p t e m b e r 19 8 9
while the former species
in
was observed egg-laying
A u g u s t 19 9 0 .
(r'tz-
porcelTus,
Deilephila
the
small elephant hawk moth, was
taken at a Barwell MVL on
This i-s only the
6.vi.91 .
record for the south
third
west of the county the others
also being from a (different)
Barwell garden on 24.ix.85
feeding at
and 30.ix.85
evening primroses.
Summer 1991 pond watching
should be very interesting!
Maggie
1991 seems to have been the
year of the gaII caused by
the cynipid
wasp Cynips
guercusfolii.
The galls
form on the underside of
the oak leaf and grow to
b e t w e e n 15 a n d 2 0 m m d i a m e t e r
tending to be in groups of
three to five per 1eaf.
Frankum
First record of eomma butterfly
!'There have':,rbeen:several
in the Times recently
letters
as to the spread of the
( Vanessa
comma,butterfly
c-aLbum) so named from the
comma or crescent on
silver
the underside of the wings.
I
On Thursday afternoon
watched one'in my garden on
the flowersi:: f Budd1eia.,l With
it were several red admirals.
freshly
It was evidently
The last time I
hatched.
sa*,i,it: *as,,6n, flowers of "
in North g,fales in
ragwort
September 1896, in numbers.
r know, of no Leicestershire
record in the last fifty
years.tt
5
for countlf??
This extract
is :taken,from
a letter
written
by one of
Leicestershj-re'
s prominent
naturalistsr,,
Frank Bouskell,
Mail issued
to the Leicester
o n t h e 3 0 t h A u g u s t 19 3 0
Is this the earllest:record
of Lhe species in the county?
Tf you come across such ,'.'
eLc in old
stories/letters
newspapers f magazines please
They are an
send them: in.
part of the history
important
of entomology in the county
ou:: archives !
and shoutd Oe
,in
to Maggie
[i am grateful.
Frankum for drawing my
attention
to this iteml.
rqk
Dipterists fly north!
which coThe Diptera Recording Scheme is the organisation
r
e
c
o
r
d
s
of certain
o
f
d
i
s
t
r
i
b
u
t
i
o
n
the coLlection
ordinates
at Monks
C
e
n
t
r
e
R
e
c
o
r
d
s
B
i
o
l
o
g
i
c
a
l
for the
groups of flies
Newslet,ters
w
i
t
h
e
x
c
h
a
n
g
e
i
n
f
o
r
m
a
t
i
o
n
a
n
a
s
It also acts
frooa.
y
e
a
r
a
S
u
m
mer field
i
t
o
r
g
a
n
i
s
e
s
E
v
e
r
y
etc.
being circulated
w
i
t
h
one
t
h
e
d
e
s
t
i
n
a
t
i
o
n
y
e
a
r
w
a
s
S
c
o
t
l
a
n
d
This
meeting.
(
j
u
st
M
u
i
r
O
r
d
o
f
a
t
,
a
n
o
t
h
e
r
a
n
d
o
f
S
k
y
e
week on the Isle
.
north of Inverness )
Sait
next
S e v e n o f u s m e t on Skye and
over the course o f the week
most of the island,
we visited
from Armadale BaY in the
sout.h to Duntulm in the
in the
north and Broadford
i
n
the
east to Waterstein
a
n
We also sPent
west.
on t,he Isle of
afternoon
Raasay, a 15 minute ferrY
from SkYe. The
crossing
only parts we did not survey
were the very far west of
the island (it was raining
when we went there! ) and the
montane region of the Cuillins
(this was in the clouds for
The onlY
most of stay! ).
good weather elas on
reaIly
day the rest of
the first
It
the time it was mixed.
o
f
was very much a case
the
seeing which direction
(
o
r
and
w
a
s
grey! ) skY
blue
then heading that way.
fl-ushes
narsh/freshwater
to saLt marsh
four sites which,
9{e visited
by
although insignificant
the standards of some southern
salt marshes, were quite
good for northern
Scotland.
The most notable find was
splendida.
Lejogaster
Gorges/river
vaTTeys
ThogaThe gorges of Coille
bhaig NNR and Geary Ravine
SSSI again were impressive
places but proved to be
for those
more product.ive
However,
craneflies.
recording
PTatycheirus
the hoverfLies
and Sphegina cluniPes
nieiseni
common.
proved to be fairly
Rha, a Woodland
The river
Trust nature reserve at Vig'
proved to be the best hoverflY
on SkYe.
site that I visited
The fourteen species included
Tappona, Leucozona
Sericomyia
gJaucia and -L Laternatia.
in
I was mostly interested
although
the hoverflies
between us we recorded a
much wider range of diPtera.
of 25
a total
We visited
sites covering a large
of habitats.
variety
lletLand
This was the most widesPread
ranging from damP
habitat,
meadows, through marsh to
at the
emergent vegetation
Pl-atYcheirus
edge of lakes .
ramsarensis was seen at
several of the sites visited.
The journey across to Muir
excePt
of Ord was uneventful
c
o
l
l
e
cting
s
t
o
p
o
n
e
o
u
r
for
l
a
r
vae
c
r
a
n
e
f
l
Y
a
n
d
beetles
h
o
r
i
z
o
n
t
al
f
o
g
a
n
d
in thick
APPlecross
of
toP
the
at
rain
Sea cLiffs
The black sand of the beach'
framed by basalt cliffs,
BaY quite an
made Talisker
Although
impressive P1ace.
we
ral-ning whilst
it started
were there, w€ did manage
streakY
to see the site's
of burnet
winged varietY
moth.
contd p7
6
Dipterists
fly north
contd
Pass (at 2t053 feet one of
the highest roads in Britain).
As with the week on Skye,
the weather was mixed, and
again it was a case of
the patches of blue
following
However, by using this
sky.
technique we managed to miss
some
most of the rain unlike
2
0
dipterists!
of the other
21
Over the week we visited
w
e
Unfortunately
sites.
one of
were unable to visit
i
n
the area,
the best sites
Morrich Moor, ds it is an RAF
bombing range and the week we
were there they were clearing
However,
unexploded bombs!
v
i
s
it
on the
the areas we did
us.
whole did not disappoint
In
the
sand dunes
Coul Links near
We visited
Dornoch, and Culbin Sands
Both are large
near Nairn.
areas of sand dunes although
most of Culbin Sands has
disappeared under 40 sguare
of Forestry
kilometres
leaving
Commission plantation
just a narrow strip
of dunes
and salt marsh beLween the
The flies
trees and the sea.
seen included Cheil-osia
Tonguk, C scuteJ-1ata, the
Nenotel-us uliginosus
soldierfLy
Tachina grossa
and the large
whose larvae are parasitic
on oak eggar caterpillars.
The old oxbows, riverside
meadows and woodlands of
and Urquhart
Strathglass
Bay on Loch Ness generated
records with
some interesting
Xylota syTvarum at the lat.ter
The best hoverfly
site.
was at Comar
site of the trip
at the southern end of
with 32 sPecies
Strathglass
Parasyrphus
including
annuLatus and the spectacular
bumblebee mimic Eriozona
a fly that was
syrphoides,
recorded in Britain
first
i n 19 5 7 a n d h a s s i n c e b e e n
colonising
spruce plantations
around the country.
Awkward fandowners
beautiful
Spey
and
We also visited
several short
range sites on the Black IsIe,
the best of these being
Braelangwell
Wood SSSI.
On
here,
each of our two visits
one member of the group had
with
to spend ages chatting
the landowner to try and tal-k
him into letting
us onto the
land and to listen
to his
long list
about
of complaints
the NCC and just about everyThe wood is
body else!
mixed Scots pine and birch
with several springs and
marshy areas.
The most
notable species seen here
were PTatycheirus
occultus,
Chamaesyrphus scaevoides
fl-avitarsis.
and Trichopsomyia
pupal
Several
cases and an
s
o
ldierfly
adult of the
found in
spp
were
Stratiomys
marshy
the
areas
one of
proving that this species
breeds here.
provided a
The Spey valley
chance to see some spectacular
scenery and another LES
member up here moth trapping!
The river
Feshie is a real1y
in
nice example of a river
almost
its natura]
condition,
untouched by man. Huge
shingle banks, heathy grassland
and alder woods are spread
flood
across the river's
plain.
This area supports
perpaTlidus
PTatycheirus
and huge numbers of
abbreviata.
Sphaerophoria
thj-s is all
UnfortunaLely,
from proposed
under threat
schemes
flood prevention
and river
"impoundments".
Indeed, there are already
tracks in the
bulldozer
shingle at the confluence of
the Spey and the Feshie.
contd
p8
Firethorn
leaf-miner
moth
TeucographeTJa is a minute golden-brown
PhyTlonorycter
garden
common
mine the leaves of the
whose caterpillars
in 1989, its range
discovered in Britain
First
Pyracantha.
L
o
n
d
on area and Essex.
t
h
e
to
aL present seems to be limited
awareness of its
i
n
c
r
e
a
s
e
d
with
that,
it is tikely
H;*;;;;,
present
locale,
its
from
spread.
and the likely
oa.nrt"nce
in
in
country
Lhe
from
elsewhere
be recorded
the moth will
future.
the not too distant
Eggs are laid on
into the
tunnels
It.
brown t.raiI.
This is
bl.ist,er,
can sometimes be
brought together
the uppef surface of leaves and the larva
leaving
a reddishalong the midrib
tissue
l
e
a
f
c
a
u
s
i
ng a
t
h
e
then eats out into
w
hite grub
a
a
n
d
and transluscent
silvery
l
e
af are
o
f
t
h
e
e
d
g
e
s
the
Finally
seen,
p
u
p
a
t
i
o
n
occurs.
i
n
w
h
i
c
h
to form a "pod"
to us and
send details
Tf you find mines on your firethorns
F
r
e
epost,
B
i
o
l
o
g
y
,
(
c
e
n
t
r
e
I
o f : : ,P o p u l a t i o n
to br David:Nash
7
B
S
)
.
S
L
5
B
e
r
k
s
h
i
r
e
A
s
c
o
t
,
Imperial College at Silwoodr Park,
to
when the means is availabre
;i;i;-i;-"-;;;e-occasion
fauna.
British
the
to
Spread: of a new addition
rno.titot th
Dipterists
flY norttr contd
The pine woods at CoYlumbridge
and Loch Garten were rather
although we
disappointing
did have good fun looking
larvae in the
for hoverfly
rot holes on the Pine trees
(and got some funnY looks
from some of the Passing
foreign tourists! ).
east the Dorback
Further
Burn has cut through what I
morraines
think are glacial
sediments to create
and river
a sma1l area of inland sand
in the
dunes and shingle
middle of open moorland.
This produced several asilids
(Rhadiurgus
variabiLis?
) and
for Pl-atYcheirus
another site
Tamsarensis.
at
The last site we visited,
Bridge of Avon, was a roadside
with
verge and wooded cliff
ita
l
o
n
g
s
e
e
p
a
q
e
s
several
I
here
flowers
umbel
the
On
coeruLeiventris,
XyTota
found
and ChtYsotoxum
X tarda
arcuatum.
85 species
in
a77,
24 new!
Over the two weeks I saw 85
52 on
speci-es of hoverfly,
Ord.
M
u
i
r
o
f
7
4
a
t
a
n
d
Skye
n
e
v
e
r
h
a
d
2
4
I
Of these,
f
u
r
t
h
e
r
a
a
n
d
b
e
f
o
r
e
seen
14 I had only seen once
previously.
Some of these
species whilst
n
o
r
t
h
e
r
n
are
places I
frequent
others
have
thought to
never
would
I
h
a
ve met
investigate.
quite a few of the countrY's
learnt
active dipterists,
craft
f
i
e
l
d
g
r
e
a
t
deal of
a
have
and
and other t.echniques
several
to
been introduced
which I
new groups of flies
home.
nearer
for
can now look
well
fortnight,
A fantastic
DiPtera
I
f
t
h
e
worth the trip!
your
taste then
are not
meetings organised bY other
schemes I exPect
recording
j
u
s
t as good.
be
will
NeiT
Frankum
Kirby Muxloe diarXr
(or wlrat you see if you keep lrour elres open!)
July
17th
1991
asked me to look at the
Iris
Solomon's SeaI in the garden.
Many of the leaves were
and were being
skeletonised
larvae
eaten by blue-grey
which I thought may be
to
I referred
sawflies.
CoLLin's Guide to Pest,
of
Diseases and Disorders
by
Garden Pl-ants written
Stefan Buczacki and Keith
and found that the
Harris
larvae were of the Solomon's
Seal sawfly Phynatocera
as having
described
aterrima
up
to 22mnt
larvae
"blue-grey
Iong, with black heads; feed
in groups on leaves of
Solomon's Seal and other
polygonatums during the
summer. The leaves are raPidlY
when larvae are
stripped
The larvae overabundant.
in cocoons in the soil
winter
emerge in May/
and adults
Females lay e99s in
June.
and larvae hatch
leaf stalks
They
about a week later.
then feed for about a month,
maJ-nly on the underside of
the leaves before going to
There
the soil
to overwinter.
is only one generation a year."
Some gardeners might wish
Contact
to treat
the plants!
insecticides,
such as HCH,
or malathion,
trichlorphon
should be used as soon as
the larvae are seen on the
plant.
I left
mine to
meal!
finish
off their
JuJy
18th
1991
Some of the broad bean plants
infested
with
were heavily
black bean aphid (Aphis
fabae).
On examining the
plants I found just two
(l spot
CoccineLl-a 7-punctata
ladybird)
but a dozen or so
larvae devouring
of their
the aphids at an enormous
The few plants were
rate.
that T had
so badly infested
to remove them but took great
care to save the ladybirds
and the larvae before I
disposed of the bean plants.
Les Jones
Mothing to magical melodies
i . : 4 ; . /'-t
common- and
red twin spot-,
sandy carpets took up rest
positions
on the cloth and
a popJ-ar hawk homed in like
Several micros
a small bat.
were potted for "further
study"
while others were noted and
freed.
dropping
"The temperature's
up
and the wind's getting
Attempts to deter
a bit."
from
my keener colleagues
n
i
g
h
t
s
e
s
s
ion
another all
R
i
sing
e
a
r
s
.
feII
on deaf
to
m
o
r
n
i
n
g
at 4 a.m. every
garden
was
trap
sort the
taking its toll!
Dusking
/'\
lut (\t
i\"
\,
r'f'\
lrV
Ita
f-
Revving up to a little
we ambled along
"dusking"
the Ketton track in the
gloomr our nets whisking
fliers.
over unsuspecting
'lThere' s, one !
T h e r e ' s o n e ! :"
Let the others do the
Ha!
The
running about for once.
g
l
u
a
c
a
t
a
,
a
n
d
macro, CiJix
lVematopogon
the micros
swanmerdanel-La and Tncurvaria
oefLmannielta were caught this
we found a gall on
wdt"
marjoram (Origanum, vuJgare )
caused by the mite Aceria
Further
on we
origani.
,'AgonoPterix
larvae'
of
looked at
in
leaves
up
J-iberosa spun
w
ort
of hairy St:John's
(Hypericum hirsutun).
Light
r, \ r?r , ?
i irr-\.{* l
lr19
on!
This was aII turning
out
t.han expected.
better
"oh
bed where is thy piIlow?"
shelved;
was temporarily
excitement now, droop later
of the
was the feeling
moment. There was a healthy
and
flurry
round the light
of species steadily
the list
grew longer
Then it happened: piping
sounds and melodious trills
were heard over the noise
We moved
of the generator.
along to hear bett,er and
were treated
to the maqical
':
music of the nightingaie.
Many hours Iater,
apparently
the sole user of the locaf
airwaves, he was still
we
singing his hearl ouL.
a1l night
could have Iistened
but, by that time, not long
before dawn, the,bal1 of the
pillow won!
streamer was
Later, dt light,
s
h
o
u
l
d
er-striPe.
with
flying
ground-,
silver
Broken-barred-,
Jane
McPhaiL
,'o'lt
t'"
Committee lggl-z
Next copy date
Chairman:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Januarlf Ist
tg92
Editor:
Adrian RusseII
(Leicester
4 1 5 10 1 )
Derek Lott
(Leicester
4 7 3 0 3 1)
Jane McPhail
(Leicester
3 8 6 18 8 )
Ray Morris
(EarI Shilton
842145)
Programmes:
Roger Key
Indoor:
Outdoor: John MousIeY
10
t ! '. t"
lf'r/
l\
'/. .1
r-,1
flt,
I
I
Lepidoptera
at Browns Hill Quarry
I99O
One of our newer members, Gianpiero Ferrari
of Melton Mowbray,
list
has contributed
the following
of lepidoptera
recorded
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
i
n
d u r i n g 19 9 0 a t t h e B r o w n s H i l l
t
h
e east of
Quarry
He also records moths at his home village
the county.
in
A11 the records are from m.v. Iight
northern
Ita1y!
traps
of species recorded have been photographed.
and the majority
GEOMETRTDAE
Magpie
I'lottled umber
March
November
Peppered (melanic)
Riband wave
Scalloped hazel
Scalloped oak
Scarce umber
Scorched wing
Shaded broad bar
ground carpet
Silver
Small engrailed
Sma1l phoenix
Small white wave
Streamer
Water carpet
Waved umber
Willow beauty
Winter
Brimstone
Bordered beauty
Bloodvein
Brindled
beauty
thorn
Canary-shouldered
Chimney sweeper
Clouded border
Clouded magpie
Clouded silver
Common carpet
Common emerald
Common pug
Common wave
Common white wave
Dotted border
Early
Engrailed
Feathered thorn
Garden carpet
Green carpet
heath
Latticed
SPHINGIDAE
Poplar
Elephant hawk
Eyed hawk
hawk
LASTOCAMPTDAE
Lackey
Pale oak eggar
December
Drinker
Grass eggar
ARCTIIDAE
Garden tiger
Ruby tiger
Muslin
White ermine
Buff ermine
Cinnabar
Common footman
Dingy footman
NOTODONTIDAE
PaIe prominent
Pebble prominent
Poplar kitten
Puss
Buff tip
Coxcomb prominent
Figure of eight
Iron Prominent
Lesser swallow prominent
contd
17
pl 2
Browns
Hill lePidoPtera
contd
NOCTUIDAE
Angle shades
AntIer
Beaded chestnut
golden Y
Beautiful
wingl
Bird's
Brick
white
Broad-barred
Broad bordered Yellow underwing
eye
bright
Brown line,
Brown spot Pinion
Burnet comPanion
Burnished brass
sallow
Centre-barred
quaker
Common
Common rustic
Common wainscot
Copper underwing
Dark arches
Dark chestnut
Dark sword grass
Dot
Dunbar
Early grey
Feathered gothic
Flame shoulder
Flounced rustic
Frosted orange
crescent
Green brindled
Gothic
Heart and dart
Hebrew character
HeraId
clay
Ingrailed
Large yellow underwing
Lesser broad-bordered
yellow underwing
Lesser yellow underwing
Lunar underwing
Marbled beauty
Mother Shipton
Mouse
Mullein
Old Lady
Pale shouldered brocade
Plain golden Y
Poplar grey
Powdered quaker
Purple clay
Red chestnut
Red line quaker
Red underwing
Sallow
SaLelIite
Setaceous hebrew character
Silver Y
Smal1 sguare spot
Snout
Sprawler
Square spot rustic
Straw underwing
LYMANTRIIDAE
HEPIALIDAE
Pale tussock
White satin
Yellowtail
Common swift
Ghost swift
Orange swift
COSSIDAE
ZYGAENIDAE
Goat moth
Six
DREPANIDAE
YPONOMEUTIDAE
Chinese character
Pebble hooktiP
Yponomeuta padeTTa
PTEROPHORIDAE
PYRALIDAE
PLatyptiT ia
PJatyptiIia
Pterophorus
Pterophorus
spot
burnet
Crambus pascueTla
hortul-ata
Eurrhypara
ruraLis
Pleuroptya
Pyrausta aurata
gonodactYTa
ochtodactYLa
PentadactYJa
ttidactY 7a
contd pl 3
12
Browns
Hill lepidoptera
contd
BUTTERFLIES
Editor's
Brimstone
Clouded yellow
Comma
Common blue
Dingy skipper
Gatekeeper
Green hairstreak
Holly blue
Large skipper
Large white
Meadow brown
Orange tip
Paj-nted lady
Peacock
Red admiral
Ringlet
Small copper
Small heath
Small tortoiseshell
Small white
Speckled wood
WaI1
The clouded yellow seems to
be the 3rd county record
f o r 19 9 0 .
The green hairstreak is a welcome sighting
for Rut1and.
comments:
Amongst the moths the clouded
magpie is the fifth
record
for the county since 1972!
The records for the grass
eggar and the goat moths need
vaLidation
it will
be
interesting
to see any
photographs that Gianpiero
The
has of these insects!
status of the bird's
wing
in the county needs to be
checked.
If these do check out, then
Browns Hill
Quarry is a
little
bit special !
Want€d - harn'estmen ! Possible oleander
at Loughborough!
harvestmen in
Anyone finding
are asked to
Leicestershire
save them for identification
by Jon Daws who is researching
in the
distribution
their
of
a
i
m
w
i
t
h
t
h
e
county
Atlas
publishing
a preliminary
f
u
t
u
r
e
.
n
e
a
r
in the
trir)
Reports have reached us of
a sighting
of a hawk moth
at Loughborough brush works
which may have been an
oleander hawk (Daphnis nerii)
Specimens should be preserved
in 70t alcohol which can
be obtained from Jon c/o
Biology, Leicester
Derek Lott,
Museum.
This would be only the second
record of this rare migrant
t,he
for Leicestershire,
other record being in 1901!
T3
"
WINTER PROGRAMME T99I.2
be held at the Leicester
A11 meetings will
o
therwise indicated.
u
n
l
e
s
s
Leicester
Saturday
November 1 5th
Museum, New Walk
MICROLEPIDOPTERA WORKSHOP
attempt at holding this identification
This is our third
Parsons, Nona Finch and Jane McPhail'
M
a
r
k
w
i
t
h
workshop
The Museum
M
useumat 10.30 a.m.
L
e
i
c
e
s
t
e
r
a
t
Meet
but do try
i
n
s
p
e
c
t
ion
f
o
r
a
v
a
i
l
a
b
L
e
b
e
w
i
l
l
collections
and bring specimens along for identification'
Thursday
December sth
THE PEAT DEBATE
PEAT BOG INSECTS
CONSERVATION OF
Records centre at
Brian Eversham of the Biological
to insects
d
ifficulties
t
h
e
o
n
e
x
p
o
u
n
d
w
i
l
l
W
o
o
d
Monk, s
7'30 p'm'
p
e
a
t
b
o
g
s
'
o
f
e
x
p
l
o
i
t
a
t
i
o
n
h
u
m
a
n
o
f
because
at the Museum.
Thursday
JanuarY
30th
HISTORICAL
ARCHTVES IN
ENTOMOLOGY
explore the_means
David sheppard of English Nature will
historical
t
h
r
o
u
g
h
e
n
t
o
m
o
l
o
g
y
a
b
o
u
t
o
u
t
of findingreviews
developing
of
thinking
anyone
to
must
a
sources
p
'
m
'
the
a
t
7
.
3
0
a
r
e
a
i
n
t
h
e
i
r
g
r
o
u
p
s
i
n
s
e
c
t
of any
Museum.
Saturday
March 7th
FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATE WORKSHOP
and Martin Drake
University
John Bullock of Leicester
watery side of
t
h
e
t
o
u
s
i
n
t
r
o
d
u
c
e
N
a
t
u
r
e
of English
o
n the second floor
h
e
l
d
b
e
t
o
m
e
e
t
i
n
g
T
h
i
s
entomology.
at
U
n
iversity
L
e
i
c
e
s
t
e
r
a
t
B
u
i
l
d
i
n
g
A
a
i
i
a
n
of the
a
v
a
i
l
able but
b
e
w
i
l
l
m
a
t
e
r
i
a
l
d
e
a
d
a
n
d
L
i
v
e
10.30 a.m.
add
t
o
b
e
f
o
r
e
h
a
n
d
d
i
p
p
i
n
g
p
o
n
d
/
d
i
t
c
h
g
o
t
o
feel free
M
a
r
c
h
l
f
o
r
c
o
l
d
b
e
t
o
o
i
t
s
h
o
u
l
d
n
'
t
variety
Thursday
March 1 2th
LOCAL LEPIDOPTERAN ACTIVITIES
in the Society tcl
for the lepidopterists
An opportunity
p
r
o
posals for a
A
l
s
o
w
o
r
k
.
f
i
e
l
d
own
their
tark-ot
the 1992 season
during
work
field
to
approach
coordinated
M
u
s
e
u
m'
p
.
m
.
t
h
e
a
t
7
.
3
0
be discussed.
will
74