Atropos migrant insect review – mid July 2011

A short lived warm spell during the last week of June, with temperatures up into the thirties in some areas, resulted in some very interesting sightings and good influxes of some of the rarer immigrant moths, most notably Small Marbled Eublemma parva. The first half of July has been more unsettled although the influx of parva has continued.

Odonata highlights have included sightings of Southern Migrant Hawker Aeshna affinis at Hadleigh Marshes, Essex, for the second consecutive year (with at least one male still present on 15 July), directions as follows: Use Benfleet Station car park, then follow central path east for 2/3 mile to pond just north of railway and south of ridge - view vegetated ditch running south TQ 788 857. Reports of Lesser Emperor Anax parthenope have come from Kent (with up to three at the Long Pits, Dungeness on 15th) and Staffordshire (Belvide Reservoir). Red-veined Darter Sympetrum fonscolombii were also reported from Belvide and at Bradwell, Suffolk.

Southern Emerald Damselfly Lestes barbarus have appeared again this year on the North Kent marshes at Cliffe. From the second viewing mound on the 'main' road leading from Pond Hill, take the stony track north, flanked on each side by a sparse hedge. Kent continued to host Dainty Damselfly Coenagrion scitulum on the Isle of Sheppey - directions are as follows: drive across the old road bridge and then find a suitable place to park. Follow the path on the north side of bridge west past pools under the new road bridge. View the north shore of pools. Willow Emerald Damselfly Lestes viridis have again been recorded in Suffolk at Alton Water and Bromeswell.

Migrant butterflies have included a Queen of Spain Fritillary Issoria lathonica at Dunwich, Suffolk, on 3 July (J. Dowding) which is not far away from where short-lived breeding colonies existed in the late 1990s. Records of Large Tortoiseshell Aglais polychloros have shown a marked increase in recent years – one was recorded on St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, on 13 July.

As mentioned above there was a good influx of Small Marbled Eublemma parva - in excess of eighty have been reported to date. This is the largest ever influx with more than double the forty recorded in both 1953 and 2006. There has been a predominantly westerly bias with the majority of records from Dorset. We have heard of many reports from counties including the Channel Islands, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex to Kent and northwards to Lincolnshire, Lancashire and West Lothian with inland records from Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire. No doubt many more records will surface in due course. An influx of Ni Moth Trichoplusia ni also occurred with perhaps a dozen recorded, mainly on the south coast, although one in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire on 5 July was noteworthy.

The rarest of the immigrant moths recorded have included Dusky Marbled Brown Gluphisia crenata vertunea at Dungeness, Kent on 26 June (D. Walker); Purple Marbled Eublemma ostrina by day at Portland, Dorset, on 28 June and Spurge Hawk-moths Hyles euphorbiae at Landguard, Suffolk on 6 July and Saltwood, Kent on 10 July. Just one Striped Hawk-moth Hyles livornica was reported (in Dorset) and a single Bedstraw Hawk-moth Hyles gallii at Tynemouth, Northumberland, on 15 July.

Several Orache Moth Trachea atriplicis and Splendid Brocade Lacanobia splendens were reported although not in the numbers recorded last year. Several Scarce Black Arches Nola aerugula appeared in Essex and Kent. Small Mottled Willow Spodoptera exigua put in their best showing since 2006 and there were notable influxes of Bordered Straw Heliothis peltigera and Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum.

Rare micro-lepidoptera included a handful of Conobathra tumidana and the immigrant plume – Oxyptilus laetus recorded in Cornwall and Dorset.

Atropos would like to thank you for your contributions to the Flight Arrivals webpage. Please keep posting your migrant news and we look forward to an exciting second half of July.