BC Upper Thames Branch

& Berks Moth Group

National Moth Night, 11 Aug 2007, at Little Hidden Farm, Hungerford Newtown

Report by Jan Haseler

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We are very grateful to Bill and Sue Acworth for letting us hold the National Moth Night event at their superb downland farm. A new standard of catering at Berkshire Moth Group Field trips has been set (home made bread with cheese and home made chutney, washed down with home-made cider, served in mid-session and then again at 1am). The event was attended by about 20 people, including 2 young children and 2 teenagers.

We ran 4 125W MV lights. The first was at a Skinner trap on a track between a hedge and a wildflower meadow; the second was at a box trap at the end of the main track, with gateways opening in all directions and a small wood adjacent, the third was at a Skinner trap on a NW-facing hillside with wild-flower meadow and scrub and the fourth was over a sheet, also on the NW facing hillside.

A very well-behaved Poplar Hawk-moth was very popular with the children, letting them hold it on their fingers and then posing for the rest of the evening on a corner post of the box trap. The most unusual sighting was Cochylis flaviciliana, an attractive cream and red micro-moth which has been recorded at only 1 other location in VC22 Berkshire in the last 20 years. A total of 67 species were identified.

This is a very under-recorded area of West Berkshire, and with the exception of a few previous records from BBOWT’s Watts Bank Reserve, all the records were new for the 10K square.

Cochylis flaviciliana	Tawny-speckled Pug

Taxa

0161 Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina) 1

0427 Spindle Ermine (Yponomeuta cagnagella) 1

0658 Carcina quercana 5

0936 Cochylimorpha straminea 1

0937 Agapeta hamana 2

0938 Agapeta zoegana 10

0954 Eupoecilia angustana 1

0963 Cochylis flaviciliana 1

1036 Acleris forsskaleana 2

1076 Celypha lacunana 2

1201 Eucosma cana 31

1260 Cydia splendana 1

1304 Agriphila straminella 2

1305 Agriphila tristella 1

1309 Agriphila geniculea 1

1344 Eudonia mercurella 2

1361 Pyrausta aurata 1

1370 Sitochroa palealis 2

1405 Mother of Pearl (Pleuroptya ruralis) 2

1413 Gold Triangle (Hypsopygia costalis) 1

1439 Trachycera advenella 1

1470 Euzophera pinguis 2

1495 Marasmarcha lunaedactyla 1

1646 Oak Hook-tip (Watsonalla binaria) 1

1651 Chinese Character (Cilix glaucata) 2

1680 Maiden's Blush (Cyclophora punctaria) 1

1708 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata) 2

1713 Riband Wave (Idaea aversata) 6

1724x Red/Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe spadicearia/ferrugata) 1

1732 Shaded Broad-bar (Scotopteryx chenopodiata) 41

1738 Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) 6

1752 Purple Bar (Cosmorhoe ocellata) 5

1776 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) 4

1804 Barred Rivulet (Perizoma bifaciata) 5

1825 Lime-speck Pug (Eupithecia centaureata) 2

1835 White-spotted Pug (Eupithecia tripunctaria) 1

1838 Tawny-speckled Pug (Eupithecia icterata) 2

1906 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) 30

1913 Canary-shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria) 1

1981 Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi) 2

1997 Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula) 1

2000 Iron Prominent (Notodonta dromedarius) 1

2007 Swallow Prominent (Pheosia tremula) 1

2030 Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis) 5

2044 Dingy Footman (Eilema griseola) 1

2047 Scarce Footman (Eilema complana) 2

2064 Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) 1

2092 Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta) 10

2098 Flame (Axylia putris) 5

2102 Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta) 46

2107 Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) 1

2111 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua janthe) 2

2112 Least Yellow Underwing (Noctua interjecta) 1

2123 Small Square-spot (Diarsia rubi) 3

2126 Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) 6

2133 Six-striped Rustic (Xestia sexstrigata) 1

2192 Brown-line Bright Eye (Mythimna conigera) 2

2199 Common Wainscot (Mythimna pallens) 5

2278 Poplar Grey (Acronicta megacephala) 1

2284x Dark / Grey Dagger (Acronicta tridens/psi) 1

2318 Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina) 16

2343x Common Rustic agg. (Mesapamea secalis agg.) 1

2352 Dusky Sallow (Eremobia ochroleuca) 2

2425 Nut-tree Tussock (Colocasia coryli) 1

2434 Burnished Brass (Diachrysia chrysitis) 1

2441 Silver Y (Autographa gamma) 1

2474 Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis) 23

Six-striped Rustic	Lime-speck Pug

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