Butterfly ConservationHighland Branch

Newsletter 17Spring 2012

Butterfly ConservationSaving butterflies, moths and our environment

www.highland-butterflies.org.uk

In this issue

Introduction 1

2011 - a remarkable year 3

Report from the west coast, 2011 6

oddbox 9

Macro-moth highlights from East Sutherland (VC107), 2011 10

Macro-moths in East Inverness-shire (VC96) 2011 15

Moth highlights from Moray (VC95), 2011 16

A very welcome visitor 18

The Lady’s Smock fights back 19

The Garden Moth Scheme (GMS), 2011 19

GMS: taking part in Aviemore 23

Volunteers set out to trap elusive moth pollinator 24

A Christmas visitor 26

Butterflies in Bulgaria 29

Field trips and events, 2012 31 - 40

Branch Committee, Butterfly Recorders and County Moth Recorders 41 - 42

I have been reflecting on my chairmanshipover the past 15 years, and yes it really is thatlong. When I was the novice with nocomputer skills, no idea about meetings,minutes, agendas nor field trips I was terrified."Oh you can do it", they all said, but strangelyno one else volunteered. Still it was probablythe best way to be, completely ignorant, andwith that grounding the only way forward, wasup. It was a true baptism by fire. I wasn'teven prepared for the hand over as no oneactually mentioned it would happen at theAGM. Fortunately it was a small group and Ibodged my way through.I learnt quickly though and with the correcttemplates and a list of all the tasks I thoughtI had to do I quickly got to grips with things.There is a train of thought which says oneshould always try something you knownothing about because you learn so muchmore from doing so. How true that is. I tookon the chairmanship knowing almost nothingabout butterflies and barely able to put aname to the most common of them. I couldtell the difference between a Red Admiral anda Small Tortoiseshell which was all the moreremarkable since I originate from the south-west of Scotland where all butterflies are RedAdmirals irrespective of species. Such raritiesas Clouded Yellow were just beyondcomprehension. Moths were somewherelurking in the background. Still, armed with abutterfly book and a gung-ho attitude, andlittle else, I sallied forth. It was about this timethat I was handed a manual at work and toldI was to be the Network Manager. I wasalmost lost for words but managed, “Can I dothis?” to be told “Of course you can”, thoughon this occasion the man assuring me couldn'tdo the job nor did he volunteer to help. Lifeis harsh sometimes.Still with all its difficulties and taking the blamefor everything I have developed the mentalequivalent of a Rhinoceros hide and a YosserHughes, "Gi'us a job", "I can do that", attitude.That's all it really takes.

Recording has changed dramatically fromalmost all paper-based to almost completelycomputer generated. I can state with certaintyit makes for fewer mistakes but when theyhappen they are all to often cataclysmic. Youhave backed up your records haven't you?Email was in its infancy and none too easy touse at the beginning but somehow we haveall come to rely on it and what a bonus thathas been. The immediacy of the the net andsome inspired Forums have given us the toolsto get the answers and keep in touch so muchmore easily, and with pictures to clarify allsorts of tricky problems. There has neverbeen a better way to keep us all interestedand up to date on events and developments.The talks too have changed from a couple ofacetates and chat to polished patter withunfeasibly skilled photography and slickpresentations. Digital projectors and laptopsare everywhere. I still maintain there is roomfor the old fashioned talk as often it is thecontent which makes the whole experiencemore exciting and memorable. I particularlylike it when things go wrong or there are quietasides as it is much more like theatre, a trueentertainment.In the intervening years we have grown as abranch and there are now around 5 timesmore members than in my early days and theyare all interested in butterflies and moths.Indeed there has been an absolutemushrooming of interest and membershipsuch that we can find help for all sorts ofthings we didn't even know about before. Wehave a very active and capable committee

IntroductionJimmy McKellar, Branch Chairman

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and the whole branch is a hive of activity withdifferent people pursuing there own interestsbut ultimately all part of the one branch pullingtogether.What would I do differently? You may thinknothing, I have enjoyed it all. You would bewrong, I have enjoyed it all but I would havedone some things differently. I would havepicked up the telephone more, because onreflection I am terrible at phoning. I just preferthe written word as it gives me more time tothink and much less opportunity to put my footin it. I can carefully consider each sentenceand get things right first time around.So why has it taken me so long to find a willingreplacement to act as a figurehead for ourbranch? I really cannot answer that question.I just do not know. You may have alreadyguessed where this is leading, “We have anew Chairman” and I will be taking a backseat. I intend to stay on committee if I amelected but in some respects I have run outof steam. It is time for a fresh look at

butterflies and moths from a differentperspective to maintain the momentum andcarry the branch into new uncharted territory.Will it be frightening? Not in the least, wellnot for me anyway. What alternative viewswill a replacement chairman have? Whoknows, but I feel sure they will be entirelydifferent to my own and just as interesting.So it simply remains for me to bow outgracefully and thank you all for putting up withme, my ramblings and my quaint little waysover this long appointment as Chairman ofthe most northerly, largest (by area) andprobably most challenging outpost ButterflyConservation has in the British Isles.But I cannot go without thanking all thoseindividuals who gave me the shove to getstarted, offered encouragement and generallykept me on the right track, you know who youare and thank you. Highland is the bestbranch in Britain and I am very proud to havebeen able to help it along.

Introduction (cont)

2

Many thanks to everyone who contributed tothis newsletter, and also to those who senttheir butterfly and moth sightings to ourwebsite in 2011, thus keeping the Latest Newspages constantly updated.In Summer 2012 the main ButterflyConservation website will undergo a redesign,which will include a set of new ‘In Your Area’pages based on branch boundaries. Visitorswill be directed to the appropriate page byentering their postcode.Each ‘In Your Area’ page will contain up todate information about the branch, and a linkto the branch website. However, branches willbe able to develop their own ‘In Your Area’pages by adding new pages and content, anduse these as an alternative to the existingbranch website.

This new approach will give branch websitesa more consistent style and appearance, andremove the need for editors to have specialistskills and software.Branches will be able to choose to have:

the default ‘In Your Area’ page and retainits current websiteextra ‘In Your Area’ pages and have its ownwebsite, both completely under its owncontrol, orthe ‘In Your Area’ page or pages as its solewebsite.

In Highland Branch we have still to decidewhich option to choose, but we look forwardto seeing what the new pages will look like,and will welcome a system that is easier tomaintain.

Bill Slaterweb/newsletter volunteer

A Remarkable YearMargaret Currie

It's snowing as I sit here reliving 2011 throughsome of the wonderful moths we have seenover the year, and despite the vagaries of theweather there have been some memorablemoments in the East Ross year of moths.

Though the ideal weather conditions did notoccur very often, which was reflected in thelow numbers of moths seen in traps, at leastone day of adverse weather in April providedan unexpected bonus (for us, not theunfortunate moths) when the wind was sostrong Orange Underwings were forced toshelter in the heather. Normally being out ofreach in the tree tops, to see them so closewas such a pleasure.

Our first moth of the year, on 4th January,quite appropriately was a Winter Moth, closelyfollowed by an Angle Shades on 12thJanuary, both seen on the outside wall of thehouse. Throughout January various recorderscontributed records of Chestnut, MottledUmber and Satellite, plus a number of others.The Early Moth reported from Kildary on 24thJanuary was a big surprise and the first newVC106 record of 2011.

Early Moth (N Richards)

February was a quiet month, though fivedifferent species of micro moths wererecorded, plus March Moth and Dotted Borderamongst the macros.

A whole spate of new species for the yearfollowed in March with some amazingly largenumbers of the more common moths beingseen. Early Tooth-striped, Common Quaker,Clouded Drab and Hebrew Character to namea few. There were also some outstandingsightings in March, such as the Lead-colouredDrab from Strathconon. The only previousrecord of this moth in the VC is from aRothamsted trap. The highlight this monthwas without doubt caught in one of our actinictraps on the night of 24th March; sitting quietlywaiting to be admired was a RannochSprawler, a moth we had been hoping to findfor quite some time. What a spectacular sight,and a new VC106 record, the excitement ofthat moment will be a lasting memory.

Rannoch Sprawler (A Scott)

Fifty six different species of moths were seenin April, though two had starring roles, our firsta sighting of a lovely Puss Moth, locally rarein East Ross. The second an exceptionallygood record of a female Rannoch BrindledBeauty, seen near Garve and only knownfrom one other site in VC106.

2011

3

Puss Moth (A Scott)

Twenty six different micro moths wererecorded throughout May, four of them newto the VC. Another good month for macromoths too, with Lead Belle, Broom Tip andScorched wing (first recorded here in 2009)putting in an appearance. Cream Wave(scotica), seen in the Oakwood at Achilty wasanother new moth added to the VC total inMay.

The Black Isle seems to be a particularly goodspot for Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoths,where they have been recorded from 7different sites. The group of people whoturned up on 4th June, in less than idealweather conditions, for the Highland Branchmeeting in Bogbuie Wood, this year saw fivemoths that day (not quite as spectacular asthe previous year when there were almost toomany to count). However a return trip to thesame area on 23rd July to search for the larvaof these fantastic moths was very successfulas 26 of them were counted.

Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth (T Mainwood)

The weather in June was so poor we onlymanaged to put traps out on 11 occasions,but taking into account the records from allobservers the total number of species seenthat month was 112. Despite the weather,thirty eight species of micro moths, includingseveral new VC records, were achieved inJune. Of the more unusual moths seen thismonth were Small Elephant Hawkmoth, Four-dotted Footman and Saxon. A Rufous Minorat Kildary rounded off the month nicely.

Though the weather once again was poorthere were a few exceptional records in July;Chestnut-coloured Carpet, Barred Carpet andHeath Rivulet, all very rare in VC106. Thehighlight of the month began on 4th July whenwe received an e-mail from a group of peopledoing a Dotterel survey for the RSPB. Theyhad been seeing Black Mountain Moths onseveral different hills in our area.

Black Mountain Moth (A Scott)

We have spent several years without successsearching for this moth, so on 13th July, a dayforecast to be warm and sunny, we set out forMeall Gorm, a Munro in the Fannichs. By thetime we reached 2000ft there was plenty ofthe moth's food plant, Crowberry, but nomoths. Doubt began to creep in that we hadchosen the wrong hill, but at 2800ft we sawwhat could only be a genuine Black MountainMoth flying about in the sunshine, thenanother, and another. The day was calm andthey seemed quite happy sitting about onrocks and occasionally taking a short flight. Itwas quite noticeable that they were onlypresent between 2800ft and 2900ft. We left

A Remarkable Year (cont)

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them to enjoy one of the few days they wouldexperience of lovely weather conditions andcontinued to the summit. Somewhatovershadowed by the Black Mountain Moths,some very nice micros were about that dayincluding Udea uliginosalis, Catoptriafurcatellus and Olethreutes obsoletana.

Catoptria furcatellus (A Scott)

August, and another good selection ofrecords. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth atPortmahomack and the 4th record of aGolden-rod Brindle from an overnight trap atArdgay Community Woodland. On the nightof 19th August SNH held a moth night at NiggRSPB hide, unfortunately it was quite chillyand the catches were fairly small. Despite thatanother new VC record was achieved by theappearance of Double Lobed. Other moths ofnote in August were two that have very rarelybeen seen in East Ross, both Coast Dart andArcher's Dart were caught at Nigg Dunes inthe middle of the month.

Some very nice moths were seen inSeptember; Grey Chi, Green Silver-lines andPlain Clay, all quite scarce in the area. Dusky-lemon Sallow, a moth new to the VC in 2010,put in an appearance at Kildary on 24thSeptember. A Convolvulus Hawkmoth wasreported from Contin Island on 19thSeptember, unfortunately it was dead, but thefirst sighting of this fabulous moth since 2007.The next new VC106 record turned up atKildary on 29th September, quite astoundingreally, an August Thorn! At this point pleaselook it up in The Provisional Atlas of the UK'sLarger Moths if you have one.

August Thorn (N Richards)

The 1st October arrived and so did aBrimstone Moth, well out of its usual June-July flight time in this part of Scotland. Therehas always been some doubt about whetherSpruce Carpet is present in VC106 (it can betricky to identify) so to find it at five differentlocations this year was good news. The twoSword-grass from Easter Fearn broughtOctober to an end.

The very mild weather during the first half ofNovember enabled us to trap on a number ofnights. The effort paid off as Juniper Carpetwas caught in Glen Orrin on 2nd November,quite a rare moth here. Is the moth really rareor are the moth trappers rare in November?Just about the last trap of the year was in ourgarden, six different types of macro moth plusan unexpected micro, Udea ferrugalis,perhaps better known as Rusty Dot Pearl.What a nice surprise.

What do moth-ers do in December? They goout looking for Goat Moth trees of course,though we have not found any new ones yet!

So as our first year as moth recorders forVC106 comes to an end, and having justrefreshed my memory of it, I feel it's been aremarkable one. The total number of macromoths found here now totals 377 andundoubtedly more to come.

A Remarkable Year (cont)

5

Report from the West Coast, 2011Brian Neath, County Moth Recorder, VC105, West Ross

A very big thank you must go to the peoplewho have sent moth records in to us over theyear, many thanks to you all. The moths newto the VC this year, and a few of the reallytricky ones to identify, have been verified by

A Remarkable Year (cont)

either Roy Leverton or Mark Young. We arevery grateful that they are prepared to sharetheir wisdom and give of their time sogenerously. Thank you both.

SUMMARYDespite the disappointing weather during2011 there was an interesting mix of ups anddowns on the lepidoptera front. Again Irecorded only one new moth species but theSatin Lutestring attracted to the Robinson trapon 14th June was also a first record forVC105 West Ross. Other highlights includedmy first January record of March Moth on27th, a Scarce Prominent on 2nd May, findinga new colony of Argent & Sable on 12th June,an Angle-striped Sallow on 9th Septemberand a record count of 144 Scotch Argus onthe Carr Brae butterfly transect on 22ndAugust.BUTTERFLIESThe beautiful weather in April resulted in myearliest record to date of Green-veined Whiteon the 10th. However, although frequentlyrecorded, Green-veined White numbersremained low and nowhere were they seenin double figures. The first three Pearl-bordered Fritillaries were seen on the 30th,only my third April record of this species. ThePearl-bordered Fritillary also peaked earlywith a count of 16 on 7th May, a typical peakcount for this small colony. There were stillseven present on 3rd June just before theweather changed with a vengeance and nonewere seen subsequently.Of the other early butterflies the Orange-tipfared the best. I had more sightings in thegarden than ever before although only singleindividuals except for two on one occasion.The species was widely reported with anexceptional count of 26 being seen by Ishbel

Cameron at Drumbuie on 30th April. ThePeacock was also widely reported between9th April and 7th May but in lower numbersthan in recent years. By contrast I saw only asingle Green Hairstreak on 15th April and Ireceived no reports from other observers.Small Pearl-bordered and Dark GreenFritillaries both had a poor season, their flightperiods coinciding with the worst spell ofJune/July weather for several years. No morethan five Small Pearl-bordered were recordedon the Carr Brae transect while Dark GreenFritillary was seen on only two transect visits,three on 20th July and a single on 30th July.One species almost seemed to thrive on thedismal weather. This was the Scotch Arguswhich was widely reported from 18th July to26th September. The three seen on the CarrBrae transect on the latter date were the latestI have ever recorded by a remarkable elevendays. As well as the 144 already mentionedin the Summary, the transect also produced61 on the 30th July and 92 on 27th Augustwhile Hugh and Margaret Scott counted 30 inthe Kinloch Woods, Skye on 4th September.There were relatively few records of SpeckledWood in the spring. Hugh and Margaret Scottfound 15 in the Kinloch Woods on 30th Aprilbut I saw no more than two on the Carr Braetransect between 26th April and 7th May. Asusual the second brood was more prolific withbutterflies widely reported between 1st Julyand 12th October. Hugh and Margaret Scottsaw 26 in the Kinloch Woods on 4thSeptember although these were spread over

6

four one-kilometre squares. My SpeckledWood year ended with two surprising records- one at my Robinson moth trap on themorning of 30th September and anexceptionally late individual on 12th October.As with the fritillary species few people reportSpeckled Wood sightings presumably due toa lack of confidence in identifying this species.By contrast the Peacock, despite its relativelyrecent arrival in the area, tends to be reportedby more people than any other species. The37 reports of Peacock came from nineobservers whilst the same number ofSpeckled Wood records came from just three.The highest count was of seven Peacock onthe Carr Brae transect on 26th September.Those formerly common relatives of thePeacock, Red Admiral and SmallTortoiseshell, are now much scarcer than thenew arrival and I saw only one SmallTortoiseshell and two Red Admirals during2011. The 13 records of Red Admiral inLochalsh included five from Hubert Hunton'sgarden at Balmacara. His six on 27th Augustwas the only report of more than two and Iknow of only five Lochalsh records of SmallTortoiseshell and these included three fromthe same garden.

Small Heath numbers were well down onprevious years with a maximum of only eighton the transect compared with a range of from25 to 40 for the years 2006 to 2010. LargeHeath is a very local species in Lochalsh andtwo seen at a remote upland site on 29th Julywas my only sighting of the year.

Two rare species for Lochalsh were recordedduring the year. Gavin Skipper of the NationalTrust for Scotland found a Small Copper atErbusaig on 4th May and JamesMerryweather photographed a Grayling onthe Plock of Kyle on 5th August. To the bestof my knowledge there are less than tenrecords of both of these species for theLochalsh area.

MOTHSThe year started with a record count of 65Winter Moths attracted to our windows on 3rdJanuary with Mottled Umber, Pale BrindledBeauty, Chestnut and March Moth alsorecorded during the month. Dotted Borderand Mottled Grey were the only additionalspecies seen during February, with fiveMottled Grey the highest count of any speciesattracted to the windows.22nd March saw the first large catch at theRobinson trap with 104 moths of animpressive 15 species. Amazingly this countwas only exceeded on two further occasionsduring the year with 167 moths of 15 specieson 8th April and 109 moths of 27 species on19th July. The best species count was amodest 35 on 9th August.The 15 species on 8th April included a recordcount for VC105 of 39 Brindled Pugs as wellas a Brindled Ochre and a Yellow-barredBrindle.On 2nd May the 63 moths of 24 speciesincluded a Scarce Prominent and three GreyBirch. A Scorched Wing on 14th May was theonly one seen during 2011 but this was theeighth consecutive year in which this specieshas occurred in our garden on Carr Brae.Surprisingly there are still no VC105 records

Grayling (J Merryweather)

Report from the West Coast, 2011 (cont)

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from any other site. The Speckled Yellow isanother moth for which there are no recordsnorth of Lochalsh. The 2011 sightingsincluded three near Killilan on 4th May, thefirst records for NG93. A Mother Shipton wasseen at the same site on the same day andanother interesting record in the same areawas that of a Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth seen by Muriel Rogers on 6th May alongthe River Ling.Along with the Satin Lutestring on 14th Junewere three Yellow-ringed Carpet, a Saxonand three Green Silver-lines amongst the 29species trapped. The newly discoveredcolony of Argent & Sable was found onremote, impoverished moorland near Loch anIasaich on 12th June with six adults seen atan altitude of about 250 metres.

Satin Lutestring

There were four July records of BarredCarpet, two at the windows and two attractedto the Robinson trap. This moth has now beenrecorded for nine consecutive years inLochalsh but there are still no VC105 recordsfrom further north.A Dark Sword-grass was attracted to theRobinson trap on 18th August but on thewhole August was rather disappointing aswas the rest of the year with very fewevenings suitable for trapping. In thecircumstances it was a good year for Yellow-ringed Carpet with eight records betweenJune and September including threeindividuals on two occasions.

Ishbel Cameron and Charlene and LauraMacLeod kept up the good work at Drumbuieand were rewarded with yet another BorderedGrey on 20th July. This was the fifth recordfor Drumbuie, just single sightings each yearand all between 13th July and 7th August.Amongst their other sightings were a Heraldon 4th May, Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet on30th May and 3rd June, Saxon on 3rd June,Chestnut-coloured Carpet on 11th and 21stJuly and a Pale Eggar on 1st September.Barbara Macritchie of the National Trust forScotland set a Skinner trap at a new site atBalmacara Square on 23rd August. Thepromising catch included 16 Rosy Rustic, 6Crescent and single Dun-bar and GoldSpangle, my only 2011 sightings of these fourspecies. There are remarkably few recordsof Dun-bar in the VC105 (West Ross)database and the Marbled Coronet is anotheruncommon moth in West Ross. Barbaratrapped one of these on the Drumbuie croftland on 24th June.NATIONAL MOTH RECORDING SCHEMEAs VC105 Moth Recorder I received a numberof interesting records during the year.Pete Moore paid a return visit to the Morvicharea in April. On 22nd he and Hilary Swiftattracted 34 moths of 12 species to a 15wActinic trap. These included a Herald, ninePowdered Quaker and two Pebble Prominent.The Herald is uncommon in West Ross butthree records during 2011 brought the totalup to nineteen.

Herald (Pittman)

Report from the West Coast, 2011(cont)

This is the first year an attempt has beenmade to produce a report on moths for VC107and it has also been the first year where aconcerted effort was made to cover a widerrange of sites through the "season". Recordswere received from Helen Crossley, WillHayward, Robert Homan, David MacAllister,Dean Macaskill, Isla Plumtree, Fay Wilkinsonand Duncan Williams so a big thank you to allthem.

Considerable effort was put into boosting thespecies lists for some of the 10km squaresbut also attempts were made to target one ortwo of the scarcer species as well as anumber of designated sites. Others with muchlonger experience than mine tell me it was arather poor year for moths but there was morethan enough to keep me busy; sometimespuzzled and frequently turning to RoyLeverton for help with identifications. I havebeen particularly grateful to Roy for his verygenerous help for without it I'm sure many ofus would really struggle with identificationsand numerous mistakes would gouncorrected.

There is currently a lot of interest in aspenand when Roy ferreted out some old recordsof Dark Bordered Beauty from SE Sutherlandand some specimens were located in theNatural History Museum it led to the intriguingprospect of possibly finding a relict colony ofthis highly specialised and very scarce moth.Unfortunately no specific sites werementioned in the records so it was just a caseof selecting a number of aspen sites to target.No Dark Bordered Beauties were found butthey appeared to be quite scarce this year atthe handful of known sites further south(possibly because the weather was rathercold and damp during the flight period) so itmaybe wasn't the best of years for a search.However, it did result in an interestingcollection of records of some of the otherspecies associated with aspen.

Six species were added to what currentlystands as the vice-county list with MothsCount. There may be some older recordsawaiting verification but Small Dusty Wave,Spruce Carpet, Juniper Carpet, Marsh Pug,Dwarf Pug and Small Clouded Brindle are allthought to be first authenticated records in2011. In addition there were 419 first recordsfor 10km squares in East Sutherland, thoughthere may be a few of these where earlierrecords have not yet been verified.

There were obviously large numbers ofrecords of the commoner species but thefollowing is a selection of some of species ofparticular interest or which were representedby only a handful of records.

Poplar Lutestring, Tethea or 5 records from4 sites (Rogart, Strath Carnaig, Spinningdaleand Achany Glen - all in different 10kmsquares) between 15 Jun and 4 Jul. Allassociated with aspen.

Cream Wave, Scopula floslactata One atSpinningdale on 2 Jun.

Small Dusty Wave

Small Dusty Wave, Idaea seriata One atGolspie on 8 Aug.

Shoulder Stripe, Anticlea badiata Singles atAchavandra Muir and Loch Fleet both on 2Apr.

Macro Moth Highlights fromEast Sutherland, VC107, in 2011Tony Mainwood, County Moth Recorder

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Spruce Carpet

Spruce Carpet, Thera britannica After the firstat Rogart on 28 Sep there were further recordsthrough October at Rogart, Achavandra Muir,Golspie and Loch Fleet with a final individualat Golspie on 19 Nov. An interesting speciesthat has expanded north in recent years. RoyLeverton reported the first ones in Banffshirein 2006 and Jeff Waddell recorded one atCambusavie on 19 Aug 2010 thoughunfortunately hadn't realised the significanceof it being a first record for the vice county andhadn't taken a photograph to fully authenticatea first record. 2011 was also the first year thatSpruce Carpet was recorded in Easter Ross(VC106) and proved to be reasonablywidespread.

Juniper Carpet

Juniper Carpet, Thera juniperata There were4 at Rogart and one at Golspie all on 21 Oct -again first records for the VC.

Slender-striped Rufous

Slender-striped Rufous, Coenocalpe lapidate(Nationally scarce A ie only recorded in 16 -30 10km squares in Great Britain since 1980)There were records in three new 10kmsquares (north of Lairg, Strath Brora andAchavandra Muir) all in late September.Previous available records were one in aRothamstead trap near Rogart in 1984 and afurther 31 records in another Rothamsteadtrap at Lairg between 1985 and 1990 withfurther records from nearby in 1994. Its flightseason (September to early October) andhabitat (rough upland pasture and openmoorland; often associated with wet flushesdominated by rushes) probably make itunlikely to be recorded by visiting mothrecorders so it is probably under-recorded.There is certainly plenty of scope for furthersurvey work.

Argent & Sable, Rheumaptera hastate(Nationally scarce B ie recorded in 31-10010km squares in Great Britain since 1980) Animpressive collection of records from DuncanWilliams involved 9 different 10km squares.Three records referred to adults but the otherswere all of larval spinnings.

Pugs - the following records resulted partlyfrom the local recorders becoming a bit moreconfident at tackling pug identification butparticularly from having the backup of RoyLeverton's expertise available to confirmidentifications from photographs. They will bemuch more frequent than these records mightsuggest but at least we are starting to get togrips with them.

Macro Moth Highlights from East Sutherland (cont)

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Marsh Pug (Dean Macaskill)

Marsh Pug, Eupithecia pygmaeata One atAchavandra Muir on 13 Jul appears to be thefirst vice-county record.

Satyr Pug, Eupithecia satyrata DeanMacaskill recorded three at Achavandra Muirbetween 13 and 25 May.

Tawny Speckled Pug, Eupithecia icterataThere were two records from Loch Fleet on13 Aug and 2 Sep.

Ochreous Pug, Eupithecia indigata Loch Fleetand Achavandra Muir were the locations ofthe three records between 7 and 11 May.

Narrow-winged Pug, Eupithecia nanata 4records from Golspie, Achavandra Muir andDalchork Wood (north of Lairg) between 25May and 11 Aug.

Larch Pug, Eupithecia lariciata Singlesrecorded at Golspie, Achavandra Muir andAchany Glen between 29 Jun and 26 Jul.

Dwarf Pug

Dwarf Pug, Eupithecia tantillaria Records ofthree individuals at Golspie and Achavandrabetween 6 and 31 May.

Green Pug, Pasiphila rectangulata One atSpinningdale on 4 Jul and one at Rogart on30 Jul.

Treble-bar, Aplocera plagiata Singles atSpinningdale, Golspie and Achany Glenbetween 31 Jul and 23 Aug.

Yellow-barred Brindle, Acasis viretataIndividuals were at Achavandra Muir on 17Apr, 10 May and 15 Jul.

Bordered Beauty

Bordered Beauty, Epione repandaria Therewere 7 records between 14 Aug and 2 Sepranging from Rogart to The Mound, StrathCarnaig, Achany Glen and AchavandraMuir.

Dotted Border, Agriopis marginaria Threerecords, Loch Fleet 26 Feb, Golspie 8 Aprand Achavandra Muir 13 Apr.

Scottish Annulet, Gnophos obfuscateSingles at Coul Links, Loch Fleet on 17 Juland 3 Aug.

Grey Scalloped Bar, Dyscia fagaria Singlesat Achavandra Muir on 10 and 27 May andone at Achrimsdale, Brora on 17 May.

Puss Moth, Cerura vinula Just one reord atAchavandra Muir on 27 Apr.

Scarce Prominent, Odontosia carmelitaSingles at Golspie on 17 and 20 Apr.

Macro Moth Highlights from East Sutherland (cont)

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Vapourer

Vapourer, Orgyia antiqua Singles at LochFleet on 13 Aug and Golspie on 23 Aug and23 Oct.

Least Black Arches

Least Black Arches, Nola confusalis One atGolspie on 19 May and one at AchavandraMuir on 21 May.

Dark Sword-grass, Agrotis ipsilon One atAchavandra Muir on 9 Sep and one at Rogarton 28 Sep.

Portland Moth, Actebia praecox OneAchavandra Muir on 2 Aug, one Loch Fleeton 19 Aug with two on 22 Aug.

Neglected Rustic, Xestia castanea 9 recordsfrom Achavandra Muir, Astle, Achany Glen,Rogart, Loch Fleet and Golspie between 17Aug and 9 Sep.

Gothic

Gothic, Naenia typica Two at Rogart on 30Jul and one at Achavandra Muir also on 30Jul.

Shears

Shears, Hada plebeja Singles at AchavandraMuir on 25 May and at Loch Fleet on 14 June.

Powdered Quaker, Orthosia gracilis Singles atAchavandra Muir on 24 Apr and 8 May.

Macro Moth Highlights from East Sutherland (cont)

13

Shark, Cucullia umbratica Singles atAchavandra Muir 17 and 27 Jun.

Sword-grass, Xylena exsoleta Four recordsbetween 23 Sep and 4 Oct.

Merveille du Jour, Dichonia aprilina Two atRogart on 28 Sep.

Brindled Green

Brindled Green, Dryobotodes eremita One inthe oak wood at Spinningdale on 20 Aug.

Flounced Chestnut, Agrochola helvola Twoat Spinningdale on 18 Sep.

Suspected

Suspected, Parastichtis suspecta Singles atAchany Glen on 11 and 23 Aug and atSpinningdale on 20 Aug.

Orange Sallow, Xanthia citrago One atGolspie on 4 Sep.

Poplar Grey, Acronicta megacephalaSingles at Rogart on 15 Jun and atAchavandra Muir on 1 Jul

Light Knot Grass, Acronicta menyanthidisOne at Achavandra Muir on 25 May.

Sweet Gale Moth, Acronicta euphorbiaeOne at Achavandra Muir on 1 Jun.

Straw Underwing, Thalpophila matura 5records at Loch Fleet between 19 Jun and 5Aug.

Saxon, Hyppa rectilinea Records fromSpinningdale and Achavandra Muir between2 and 19 Jun.

Northern Arches

Northern Arches, Apamea zeta assimilis Oneat Golspie on 1 Aug

Small Clouded Brindle, Apamea unanimis Oneat Loch Fleet on 14 Jun.

Green Silver-lines, Pseudoips prasinana Oneat at Golspie on 25 May.

Lempke's Gold Spot, Plusia putnami Severalrecords between 2 and 13 Aug of a speciesthat is thought to have increased considerably.

Macro Moth Highlights from East Sutherland (cont)

14

in frequency and may be taking over fromGold Spot in some areas of Highland.

Small Fan-foot, Herminia grisealis Singles atSpinningdale on 2 Jun and at Golspie on 29Jun.

Northern Deep-brown Dart, Aporophylalueneburgensis 4 records from Loch Fleet andAchavandra Muir between 19 and 31 Aug.

Macro-moths in VC96,East Inverness-shire, in 2011Pete Moore, County Moth Recorder

Macro Moth Highlights from East Sutherland (cont)

This review covers the highlights of the 4000macro-moth records received for 2011 as ofthe end of January 2012. There are certainlymore records out there that have not yet madeit to my e-mail inbox!New species for the VCOnly one new species was added to the listthis year (compared to an exceptional six newspecies in 2010) but it was also a new speciesfor Scotland! This was Conformist,subspecies furcifera, caught at RSPB InshMarshes on April 9th by Matthew Deans andPaul Bryant, visiting moth enthusiasts fromSuffolk. In Britain there have only been aboutfourteen records ever of this subspecies andthis was only the second record since 1946.Subspecies suffusa was known to be residentin South Wales between 1859 and 1959 butwith no further records is now thought to beextinct. Subspecies furcifera, as caught atInsh Marshes, is believed to be an immigrant.However, this is not known with certainty andso there is speculation in some quarters as tothe chance of there being a hithertoundiscovered breeding colony at InshMarshes!Species recorded in 2011 that have ten orfewer records in the VC database (numberof previous records given in brackets)Heart & Club (3) Nairn, east beach (SteveWhitehouse, David Jackson & Terry Thomas)

Large Red-belted Clearwing (1)Dalreichart, Glen Moriston (Jane Bowman)Lyme Grass (1) Nairn, east beach (SteveWhitehouse, David Jackson & Terry Thomas)Magpie Moth (3) Two records - Inverness(Ewan Munro) and Aigas (in traps set by TonyMainwood for the BC Highland branch micro-moth workshop.Marbled Beauty (3) Four more records, allInverness (Ewan Munro). Ewan's records ofthis species and Magpie moth, above, showthat you don't have to live out in thecountryside to get good moth records.Oak Nycteoline (7) RSPB Insh Marshes(Marc Botham)Small Clouded Brindle (7) Beauly (DrJulian Clarke)Small Dusty Wave (2) RSPB Insh Marshes(Steve Wilkinson). The previous two recordswere both in Tom Prescott's garden!UKBAP speciesGoat moth Two records from a new site inInvermoriston (Jon Smith)Dark Bordered Beauty Regular monitoringwas carried out at the two VC96 colonies,which included searches for larvae as well aslight trapping for adults. The number of adultsrecorded was down on last year anddistribution appeared to have contracted atone of the sites. However, the lower numbers

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may have been due, in part at least, to theunusually cold weather during the 2011 flightperiod which will have reduced moth activity.Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth Sevenrecords received.Netted Mountain moth Four recordsreceivedBarred Tooth-striped One record, at aregular site- Inverfarigaig (Rosemary Holt)Sword-grass Two records - Kiltarlity(Malcolm Harvey) and RSPB Insh Marshes(Matthew Deans)Postscript

Due to other demands on my time andenergy, I feel unable to continue in my role asVC96 moth recorder. I was a relativenewcomer to moths when I became recorder,several years ago, and it has been a steeplearning curve. I have very much enjoyed mytime as recorder and I hope to carry out theseduties again in the future, probably when Iretire (not for a while yet!) and have more timeon my hands. In the meantime I will continueto be very involved with moths and butterflies.I am very grateful to Mike Taylor for agreeingto take on the mantle of recorder for VC96 inaddition to VC95.

Macro-moths in VC96, East Inverness-shire (cont)

Moth highlights from VC95, MorayMike Taylor, County Moth Recorder

Despite the less than ideal weather that weexperienced during much of last year theresident and visiting moth recorders continueto submit an impressive number of records.There were 3790 macro moth records and686 micro moth records giving a total for theyear so far of 4476. This number will go up asI know that there are still more records tocome in. The number of macro moth speciesseen last year was 274 out of the full VC95list of 363. Many thanks to all those who havesent in these records.There was one new macro moth species forthe vice-county found last year. A Death's-head Hawk-moth was found by Cherry Fairleyin Elgin on 10th October on the ground in thecar park near her place of work. Thisspectacular moth is a migratory species andthis far north is only occasionally found on theScottish mainland, so very well done forspotting it.Six new micro moth species were found lastyear. Three Tortricodes alternella were

trapped by James Hammond in Forres duringFebruary and March. This is a species that ismore common in the central belt and furthersouth so it was I was surprised to find onemyself in Culbin Forest in a different 10kmsquare two weeks after James' first record.The next new micro moth was again fromJames Hammond in Forres who trapped twoEnarmonia formosana, a very attractive tortrixand one of the few with a common name, theCherry-bark Moth. This is the most northerlyrecord for this species to date. Mark Youngfound one Eulamprotes immaculatella in Julyat Lien of Garmouth and Mike Taylor aScoparia pyralella in Boat of Garten in Juneplus Stigmella microtheriella from a leaf minenear Relugas and Caloptilia syringella againfrom a leaf mine at Brodie Castle.Other notable records include: Goat MothLarvae found in Culbin by Margaret Gill andDon Cathro. Seventeen records for KentishGlory from Marc Botham, John Knowler, PeterStronach, Pete Moore and Mike Taylor.

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Golden-rod Pug in Boat of Garten, MikeTaylorBroad-barred White at Kinloss, AllanLawrence

Merveille du Jour (M Taylor)

Merveille du Jour at Forres, Dunphailand Boat of Garten, James Hammond,Fiona Hay, Mike Taylor

Orange Sallow at Dell of Abernethy,Mark Hammond

Sweet Gale Moth in Boat of Garten, MikeTaylor

Coronet in Forres, James Hammond

Northern Arches near Grantown and onDava Moor, Kevin Rylands, Mike Taylor

Green Silver-lines in Forres, JamesHammond

Small Purple-barred at Lochindorb, Peter& Pauline Heathcote

Straw Dot near Grantown, Kevin Rylands.

Eighteen records for Netted Mountain Mothfrom Marc Botham, John Knowler, PeteMoore and Mike Taylor. Dark BorderedBeauty with two records from Kevin Rylands.

Rannoch Sprawler, Sluggan (M Taylor)

A moth trapping event to look for RannochSprawler at Sluggan near Carrbridge provedsuccessful and added one more 10km squarefor this local speciality.

Coast Dart, Findhorn (M Taylor)

At another event on Findhorn Dunes inAugust five Portland Moth plus large numbersof Coast Dart and Archer's Dart were amongstthe catch along with the third VC record of thewell named Uncertain.Finally a number of species where there areless than ten VC95 records were alsorecorded during 2011:

Orange Swift in Aviemore, Audrey & BobTurnerMarsh Pug at Hopeman and Covesea,Mike & Britt Taylor

Moth highlights from VC95, Moray (cont)

17

As the warm spring gave way to yet another poorsummer, 2011 looked set to be my poorest-everyear for moths. I was glad we had stopped tryingto make our own hay - it would have been adisaster. Another long spell of north-westerlygales and squally showers wrecked the gardenin early August, bruising fruit crops, damagingvegetables and trashing my carefully tendednectar plants. Our last goodsummer had been in 2006.That seemed in the distantpast.The gales had finally easedby 9th August. It was awhole week since I'd beenable to run my light trap.Perhaps I should put it outsimply to avoid too long agap in the data, eventhough it was far from aperfect evening? More fromduty than in hope, I set it upand switched it on.At this time of year thebuddleia bushes attractmany moths. We havespace for several largeones, grown from self-sownseedlings rescued from the vegetable beds. Overthe years they have produced many interestingrecords. Besides, it's always enjoyable to watchmoths behaving naturally, going about theirnightly business in their normal fashion. A gentlestroll round the garden with a torch at dusk is apleasant end to the day, especially whenfollowed by a wee dram. Not that I was expectingto see much after the bad weather we'd had.Indeed, the first species I saw couldn't have beenmore commonplace - Large Yellow Underwingand Dark Arches, gorging on the nectar in thebuddleia sprigs on the lee side of the bushes,less battered by the gales. More kept arriving asI stood there, flying past my head as they soughtout the best blooms. Then suddenly I was buzzedby something altogether bigger and morepowerful. Its wings made a melodious hum, likea child's spinning top. This was much moreexciting - it could only be a hawk-moth!Identifying the species was difficult. The mothwas just too quick for me in the gathering gloom.

Its flight was erratic, zig-zagging here and there.It would pause only briefly at one sprig beforejinking to the next. By the time I focussed thetorch it had moved on. Eventually I did managea moment's clear view - Bedstraw Hawk-moth!And what a beauty!Having established its identity, I hurried back tothe house for my net. It would be nice to have a

closer examination of sucha rare visitor, and maybetake some photographs. Butwould the moth still be therewhen I got back? I feared theworst. Sure enough, therewas no sign of it. Never mind- what a privilege it had beento see it.For the next half hour Iwandered forlornly round thegarden, scanning everybuddleia bush in turn andthe honeysuckle too, thistime with net in hand. Therewas no sign of my BedstrawHawk-moth. It could bemiles away by now. Time forthat nightcap, but first I'dcheck the light trap on the

lawn. And there was my moth, sitting quietly onan egg tray. Superb!Needless to say, I took a large number ofphotographs the next day, trying for the 'perfectshot' despite the poor light. The moth was a largefresh female with scarcely a scratch on it. Despiteits size and striking appearance, the disruptivemarkings on its forewings and abdomeneffectively broke up its shape. It would be hardto spot when resting on tangled low vegetation.That evening the weather was windy and rainyyet again. Even so, I thought it best to releasethe moth in a sheltered place. It fed briefly athoneysuckle despite the conditions. The nextnight it was still here, now back on the buddleiawhere it first appeared. I enjoyed good views ofit hovering agilely at the highest blooms,silhouetted again the dusk sky. What a finedisplay of precision flying! At least 2011 hadprovided one memorable highlight.

A very welcome visitorRoy Leverton

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The Lady's Smock in our not very wet gardenpond (grid ref NH824999) produced lots ofblooms last summer and Orange Tip(Anthocharis cardamines) butterflies,including at least one female, were seenaround it on several occasions. Followingthese sightings upwards of 20 eggs werefound on plants and subsequently at least 14caterpillars appeared. These were graduallywhittled down to seven well grown ones.In early July while checking to see how thecaterpillars were progressing I noticed onecaught up in the rolled up outer cover of a ripeseed pod. A later check showed it was stillthere and dead. Over time it graduallydecayed.A few days later, by which time I could onlyfind three, I spotted another one caught in thesame way and it too was unable to escapeand died (see photograph).Other seed pods had the seed pod coversrolled back too and I have read this is thenormal way the plant disperses its seeds.

The Lady's Smock(Cardamine pratensis) fights backHelen Mainwood

I presume others have observed caterpillarsbeing killed in this way. Was it justcoincidence that these two caterpillars werein the "wrong place" just as the pods explodedor could the presence of the caterpillar havetriggered the response?

The Garden Moth Scheme 2011Heather Young, GMS co-ordinator, Scotland

The Garden Moth Scheme (GMS) runs from early March to early November, with people recordingthe numbers of around 260 species of the more common moths in their gardens once a weekthroughout this period. Further information on the findings of the GMS for the whole of the UK andIreland, both current and historical, is available in the form of annual reports and quarterlynewsletters, which can be found in the Downloads section of the web-site:http://www.gardenmoths.org.uk

At the time of writing (early January 2012), 21 sets of results have been returned from Scottishgardens for the GMS 2011. Of these, 8 are from the Glasgow & South-west (G&SW) BC branchregion, 8 from the East, and 5 from Highland (including 2 from Shetland and 1 from the OuterHebrides).

Members counted 26,696 individual moths of 228 species at an average of 1,271 per gardenover 679 trapping events (ideally everyone traps once a week for 36 weeks - inevitably someweeks are missed, but these are kept to a minimum), and not including any 'extra' speciesencountered that are not on the monitored list of common moths. The figures ranged from atotal of 66 on a Glasgow balcony to 5,509 in a large rural garden on South Uist.

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Dark Arches (opposite) was the commonest moth overall,occurring in every garden from Shetland to the Borders, andin triple figures in 9 / 21 of them. The Scottish top 20 are shownbelow, along with their regional averages - figures highlightedin bold designate the regional Number One species.

AVERAGE / GARDENScotland G&SW East Highland

Dark Arches 144 79.6 89.9 333.4True Lover’s Knot 94 0.9 0.3 392.8Hebrew Character 89.4 27 173.3 55Large Yellow Underwing 82.6 91 69 90.8Common Quaker 68.5 25 153.6 1.8Common Rustic Aggregate 42.8 28.5 48 57.2Square-spot Rustic 33.9 1.3 8.6 126.4Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 31 21.1 58.5 3Chestnut 30 6.5 72 0.2Small Wainscot 28.2 0.6 3.3 112.2Clouded Drab 24.8 9.8 53.8 2.4Dotted Clay 24.4 23.1 37.4 5.6Lesser Yellow Underwing 21.2 14.1 34.3 11.6Antler Moth 19.1 6 14.8 47.2Rosy Rustic 16.5 3.5 23.3 26.4Red Chestnut 16.2 0.4 4.5 60.4Bird-cherry Ermine 15.7 5.3 35.9 0Beautiful Golden Y 13.4 6.9 8.5 31.8Agriphila tristella 13 8.5 18 12.4Burnished Brass aggregate 12 3.5 14.9 21

Occasionally, a locally abundant speciescan occur in such large numbers in a singlegarden that it ends up in a high position inthe charts - True Lover's Knot is an exampleof this, with almost all of them recorded fromSouth Uist.

Regionally, on average Highland recorderstrapped the highest number of moths, withthe fewest being encountered in Glasgow &South-west, as shown opposite.

AVERAGE / GARDEN

Scotland 1271.2

G&SW 637.3

East 1507.6

Highland 1907.4

The Garden Moth Scheme (cont)

20

This can be slightly misleading though, as other factors such as trap type do have an effect. Themembers in G&SW have a greater diversity of trap type than those in the rest of the country, witha much greater use of actinic tubes, as shown in the figure below:

The top 20 for the Highland branch region is shown below, along with their overall rank in Scotlandas a whole. It is interesting to note that several species seem to be more common in the regionthan they are in other parts of Scotland (apart from the aforementioned True Lover's Knot), suchas Autumnal Rustic and Buff Ermine.

AVERAGE /GARDEN

RANKSCOTLAND

True Lovers’ Knot 392.8 2

Dark Arches 333.4 1

Square-spot Rustic 126.4 7

Small Wainscot 112.2 10

Large Yellow Underwing 90.8 4

Red Chestnut 60.3 16

Common Rustic aggregate 57.2 6

Hebrew Character 55 3

Antler Moth 47.2 14

Garden Tiger 37.8 24

Beautiful Golden Y 31.8 18

Dusky Brocade 28.6 28

Smoky Wainscot 27.8 22

The Garden Moth Scheme (cont)

21

AVERAGE /GARDEN

RANKSCOTLAND

Brown Silver-line 26.8 34

Rosy Rustic 26.4 15

Buff Ermine 26 40

Bright-line Brown-eye 25 37

Clouded-bordered Brindle 22.6 31

Burnished Brass aggregate 21 20

Autumnal Rustic 20.8 42

Table continued from previous page

When all results for 2011 have been returned,a slightly more detailed report will be availablein the Scotland section of the GMS web-site,and eventually a full Annual Report for thewhole of the UK will be published and beavailable for download by interested parties.

The GMS is still relatively new to Scotland,although it has been operating since 2003 inthe West Midlands, and it will be a few yearsbefore any trends can be established in termsof 'winners and losers' amongst our commongarden moths. There is still plenty ofopportunity for new members to take part, andI would welcome enquiries from anyone,experienced moth-er or complete beginner,who would like more information on thescheme.

The new recording season starts at thebeginning of March, and there are lots of gapsin coverage across the country that we wouldlike to fill, but even two different gardens inthe same town can have very different mothcommunities, so please get in touch if you cantrap regularly (at least 27 / 36 weeks) betweenMarch and November.

heather.young@tiscali.co.uk

The Garden Moth Scheme (cont)

Around this time last year I decided that 2011would be the year I'd trap once a week fromspring until autumn in my garden and see whatmoths are in my local. I'd heard a little aboutthe Garden Moth Scheme and decided to findout a bit more about it, and see if I couldcontribute.

The idea is simple, everyone taking part putstheir trap out, in the same place in their gardenevery Friday night until Saturday morningduring the hours of darkness no matter theweather, unless the weather is due to be sobad that putting the trap out would endanger,the moths or yourself. You can put the trapout up to 3 days early or late, if you are goingto be on holiday for example, so there is someflexibility. You can miss a couple of weeks butit is best if no gap is longer than 3 weeks andyou should be recording for at least 27 of the36 weeks.

You are sent a spreadsheet to complete, whichincludes a list of the more common species,mainly macro-moths, but some micros as well,although some common, but difficult, mothsaren’t included, for example some of the Pugspecies. The lists are slightly different fordifferent parts of the country to reflect thevariations in species distribution. Each weekyou fill in the date you trapped and the numberof each species that you catch; there is also away to indicate a zero catch, which is alsoimportant to record.

Every quarter you send the spreadsheet toyour local co-ordinator and there is anewsletter which is sent out with informationon numbers of species caught and increasesor decreases on previous years. There is alsoa Garden Moths group on Yahoo which I foundinteresting as I would be reading aboutpeople's catches in the south and then startgetting some of those species in my owngarden a couple of weeks later.

I live near the north end of Aviemore at the endof a cul-de-sac with an open area outside myback garden which leads up to some mixed,

mainly Birch, woodland. There is quite a bit oflight pollution which has increased over thelast couple of years due to quite a few newhouses being built. Looking back at myresults, I managed to trap in 34 of the 36weeks and all bar 4 were on the Friday. Outof those 34 weeks there were 7 weeks whenI caught no moths, mainly those weeks werewhen we had low temperatures. My largestcatch was 37 individuals, which although a bitdisappointing, at least meant I was able toidentify my catches fairly quickly.

Notable species, to me anyway, were Map-winged Swift, Orange Swift, Yellow Horned,Pine Beauty and Canary-shouldered Thornwhich were all new to the garden. There werealso plenty of old favourites, Beautiful GoldenY, Sallow Kitten, Brimstone, SwallowProminent and a beautiful Garden Tiger.

As I write this, it's only a few weeks until theGarden Moth Scheme starts for 2012, and Iintend to take part again. There is also awinter scheme for those intrepid enough to notmind a bit of snow and ice in their traps.

Anyone interested in taking part can findmore information on the GMS website:

http://www.gardenmoths.org.uk/

GMS: taking part in AviemoreAudrey Turner

Pine BeautyMap-winged Swift

Canary-shoulderedThorn

Sallow Kitten

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The flowers of Lesser Butterfly-orchid (Platanthera bifolia) areadapted for pollination by night-flying moths, but it is currentlyunknown which species of moth act as pollinators for the orchid inScotland. Last year, a request was made by the Cairngorms RarePlants Project for volunteers to set moth traps at local LesserButterfly-orchid populations in an attempt to catch and identify thepollinators. Participants were asked to examine the moths carefullyfor the presence of orchid pollinia attached to their proboscises, avital clue which would separate the pollinators of Lesser Butterfly-orchid from the general catch.

With real enthusiasm from Butterfly Conservation members, andtraps running at five different Lesser Butterfly-orchid sites inScotland, we looked set to solve this pollination mystery. However,the good old Scottish weather refused to cooperate, with cool and

Volunteers set out to trap elusive mothpollinatorDr Andy Scobie

wet conditions leading to poor moth activity throughout much of the orchid's brief flowering period,and unfortunately we didn't get confirmation of a single Lesser Butterfly-orchid pollinator from anyof the 5 sites - a little disappointing after all of that effort!

However, all was not lost as some moths were trapped carrying the pollinia of other orchid species- just not the one we were looking for! See below pictures of an Elephant Hawkmoth and BeautifulGolden Y, trapped by Mike Taylor and Pete Moore near Boat of Garten, carrying the bright yellowpollinia of Fragrant Orchid on their proboscises.

Daytime moth pollination was also recorded on the flowers of Fragrant Orchid near Boat of Garten.See below image by Stewart Taylor showing a Six-spot Burnet carrying a collection of bright yellowpollinia on its proboscis.

Pollinia typically vary in size, colour and shape between different orchid species as well as theposition in which they attach to the insect (e.g. on the proboscis, eyes, head, legs or thorax). Forexample, in Lesser Butterfly-orchid the club-shaped pollinia have a short stalk and become attachedto the base of the moth's proboscis, but in the closely related Greater Butterfly-orchid theclub-shaped pollinia have a much longer stalk and become attached to the eyes of the moth. This

24

should, in theory, mean that pollinators ofdifferent orchid species can be distinguished byexamining the appearance of the pollinia andwhere they are attached to the insect. However,at first glance, the pollinia of Fragrant Orchid aresimilar in appearance to those of Lesser Butterfly-orchid and are attached to the moth in the sameposition, on the proboscis. These two species oforchid frequently occur together in Scotland, andmay potentially share the same pollinators,presenting an obvious challenge to this study. Itis possible to tell the pollinia of these two species

apart as they are notably differentin shape (see images of pollinia toleft by Mike Taylor), but it is difficultto distinguish between them withcertainty in the field without a closerlook under the microscope.

Following the limited success lastyear, volunteers are being asked tohave another go this year but we'llhave to keep our fingers crossed forsome better weather when theorchid is in flower during June and

early July. Even if you're not involved with the study, you might find it interesting to keep an eyeout for moths carrying orchid pollinia appearing in your traps along with a note of any orchid speciesat the site.

For further information, or to get involved, please get in touch with Andy Scobie, Cairngorms RarePlants Project, e-mail: a.scobie@abdn.ac.uk or tel. 01479 810477. If you'd like to know more aboutthe Cairngorms Rare Plants Project then please visit the new website:www.cairngormsrareplants.org.uk

Many thanks to everyone who helped with the study last year.

Volunteers set out to trap elusive moth pollinator (cont)

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Whilst we were making a start with preparingour Christmas dinner Britt noticed a caterpillarcrawling off of a vase full of carnations ontothe worktop splashback. It was neither the timenor place to commence a detailed study of thebeastie so having first shown it to thegrandchildren I popped it into an old foodcontainer with a few of the carnation flowersto keep it going and carried on with Christmas.

The next day the caterpillar started ravenouslymunching into the base of the flowers havingnot eaten anything the previous day. At thetime it was about 20mm in length and over thenext ten days or so grew to about 35mm. Itconsumed or perhaps I should say destroyedtwo flowers most days. Fortunately thecarnations stayed fresh in their vase and didnot run out, though a quick visit to Tesco wherewe had bought the originals would haveprovided more food had we needed it.

The caterpillar tended to bore a hole in theflower receptacle just above the stalk and eatfrom the nectar rich base of the petalsdetaching most of them in the process. On oneoccasion it moved into the base of the flowerwhilst it moved from one instar to the next sowhen it disappeared mid January I at firstthought it was again having a moult but thistime it did not reappear. I had to assume thatit had gone into pupation however it was notpossible to look into the flower receptacle asthe nectar that had leaked from the flower hadnow solidified and stuck the flower and itscontents to the kitchen towel and to the bottomof the old food container.

I had taken some photographs of the wellmarked and colourful larva but could not comeup with a particularly good match of what I tookto be one of the noctuids. The caterpillar wasunexpected at this time of year so theassumption was made that it had probablyspent the earlier part of its existence in agreenhouse and therefore the emergence ofan adult if it was still alive could take place atany time.

The pupa was left stuck in its food containerwhich was kept in relative warmth in the utilityroom. A twig was added to the container sothat should the moth emerge it had somethingto crawl up and dry its wing from. This happedon the 6th February and what I found was amedium sized brown noctuid that I could notat first put a name to. A look in Waring andTownsend indicated that it was likely to be oneof the Bordered Straws with Skinner's bookindicating more clearly that it was a ScarceBordered Straw.

The Scarce Bordered Straw is as its nameimplies a scarce migrant with just a fewsighting in Scotland however like this one it isalso an adventive and can on the continent bea pest species on cultivated plants. Still it wasthe first one that I had ever seen and addedsome welcome moth interest whilst waiting forthe more usual culprits to appear outside.

A Christmas visitorMike Taylor

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26th April

A warm sunny day and a first noted visit toour garden by a Green Hairstreak. Wethought it was perhaps a one off so weredelighted to spot another the following week.

12th July

Out walking near the hill loch on quite a warmday, keeping our eyes peeled for moths really,when we spotted a butterfly which we couldnot immediately identify, so popped it into apot and took it back home. Managed to get aphotograph taken on a butterfly orchid in our

1st March

Our first butterfly of the season, a brightlycoloured Small Tortoiseshell, appeared ona window ledge in the spare bedroom today.Considering it had been in hibernation it wasstill a dazzler, fluttering up and down thewindow in the bright sunlight.

11th April

We had been out walking with ourgrandchildren on quite a drizzly day whenRon spotted an Emperor Moth in theheather and as we had the collecting tub withus decided to take it back to photograph. Weplaced it on a piece of driftwood in theconservatory and lo and behold a little whilelater there were 7 eggs laid! Thinking thatthey would probably not hatch out, but everhopeful, we kept taking a look at them eachday and on 25th April 4 eggs hatched,followed by the remaining 3 the followingday. We were amazed and immediatelyfound a large transparent plastic box to placethem in and tried to provide them with freshheather and blackthorn every day. However,by the third day we could see we were losingthe battle to keep the larvae alive anddecided to release the remainder back in theheather, where we had released the moth.

Diary notes 2011Dot and Ron Ruston

27

wild patch of garden and then released thebutterfly out on the hill. Searching through anold Readers Digest book, we found that it wasin fact the northern sub species of the LargeHeath Scotica, so we were pleased to havebeen able to record our first sighting of thisbutterfly.

17th September

Another really successful work party on thePolmaily Transect, which we are fortunate tomonitor. A truly great day weatherwise andthe effort made by everyone who volunteeredtheir labour.

30th September

We had headed north for a few days as theforecast was good and on this Friday wevisited the Castle of Mey where in the walledgardens we came upon a group of seven oreight 'Royal' butterflies!! Namely, RedAdmirals enjoying the nectar amongst themany sedum plants.

A great finale to the butterfly season.

Diary notes 2011 (cont)

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With just 60 species on its list, Britain has a veryimpoverished butterfly community compared tomost other parts of the world. As soon as youcross the English Channel into northern France,the number of species increases significantlyand as you move southwards and eastwardsthrough Europe it gets even better.In June 2010, Hilary and I went to Bulgaria insearch of birds and some of the 220 or sobutterfly species that are found there. Not beingable to afford to go on an organised tour, we(mostly Hilary) planned and booked the wholetrip over the internet. This can take a lot of hoursof research but I always think that a holiday canbe enjoyed at least three times over. Firstly, youcan enjoy the planning and the anticipation ofthe trip. Secondly, you enjoy the trip itself andthirdly, you enjoy it all again when you re-visityour photographs and memories at a later date.The year of our trip, Balkan Holidays wereoffering direct flights to Bulgaria from Invernesswhich was very convenient and indeed wasinfluential in our choice of destination. Wepicked up a pre-arranged hire car at Bourgasairport and away we went. Bourgas is on theBlack Sea coast and a relatively new destinationfor beach lovers. Our aim was to get away fromthere as soon as possible and into thecountryside. Once away from the city, the roadswere extremely quiet which made for relaxingdriving and gave the opportunity to screech to ahalt at the roadside if an interesting bird orbutterfly was seen, without being a danger toother road users. Bulgarian roads are often

criticised for being badly surfaced and full ofpotholes but I saw this in a positive light, on thebasis that it made everyone drive slowly!Our first destination was Strandja Natural Park,an area of great natural beauty with extensiveoakwoods in the south-east corner of Bulgarianear to the Turkish border. We stayed at a smallguest house in the peaceful village of Stoilovofor three nights. The guest house owners couldnot speak English and we could not speakBulgarian but we got along fine with a bit of signlanguage and a lot of guesswork. Around thevillages, woodland has been cleared for grazinglivestock and because they are not intensivelymanaged, these same pastures can be good forbutterflies (although with rural depopulation,some areas are being abandoned and revertingto woodland). We were able to walk out of thevillage each day, along deserted tracks andpaths, in search of butterflies. Unfortunately,cool and rainy weather limited butterfly activitybut we still saw species that were new to us, likeDusky Meadow Brown, Lattice Brown andEastern Wood White. On our last day inStoilovo, the sun shone, the temperature soaredand out came the butterflies. Fritillaries wereabundant, both Silver-washed and Marbled,along with various skippers, browns and whites.A beautiful Map butterfly was the star of themorning. Although our Stoilovo butterfly list wasreduced by the weather, the birding was brilliantand staying in the village had been a rich culturalexperience.We moved on to the village of Kosti, still withinthe Natural Park, for the next four nights. Again,there was no need to drive out during the day,we simply walked along tracks and paths out ofthe village. The weather improved andbutterflies were active. Highlights includedCardinal, Nettle-tree butterfly, Freyer's PurpleEmperor, Queen of Spain Fritillary, CloudedYellow, Great Banded Grayling, Grecian Copper,Pearly Heath and Sloe Hairstreak. Two Dutchbutterfly enthusiasts were staying at our guesthouse so in the evening we were able tocompare notes. Interestingly, they did not havea butterfly net like us but instead relied onpatience and getting good photos to allowidentification.

Balkan Marbled White (Hilary Swift)

Butterflies in BulgariaPete Moore

29

For the final six nights of our trip we drove acrosscountry to the tiny village of Gorno Pole in theEastern Rhodope Mountains for a change ofhabitat. The drive itself was memorable, withmile after mile of near empty roads and anextensive rolling landscape with few villages.Driving through such an area of low populationdensity made me aware of how crowded Britainis and how busy are its roads (for those of youwho live in the more remote parts of theHighlands, remember I live in Strathspey whichis very busy).In addition to butterflies seen earlier, the GornoPole area added species such as Niobe Fritillary,Balkan Marbled White, Sooty Copper and Twin-spot Fritillary. The highlights here were LittleTiger Blue (a miniscule hard-to-spot gem) andCamberwell Beauty (a species that Hilary wasespecially keen to see). There were otherbeautiful insects around too, for example Ant-lions and a gorgeous dainty insect about threeinches long with long tail streamers which welater discovered was a type of Lacewing foundonly in that part of the world.

In total, we identified 50 species of butterflyduring our holiday. If we had gone on anorganised butterfly tour we might have seentwice that many in just one day but we had thepleasure of planning our own itinerary, going atour own pace, identifying everything ourselvesand being unsure about what we would findaround the corner. We also saved plenty ofmoney into the bargain. We found friendly guesthouses for just £20 per person per night FULLBOARD (and with the odd drink thrown in). Nowthat's what I call excellent value!I would thoroughly recommend butterfly tripsabroad and Bulgaria in particular. The wildlifewas fantastic, local people were very friendly andhelpful, the food was plain and simple and alllocally grown, the roads were quiet and thelandscape beautiful. I have travelled to a fairnumber of countries looking for wildlife and Imust say that our trip to Bulgaria was one of thebest. Hilary and I are returning in 2012, this timeto the Pirin Mountains in the west. I'll let youknow how we get on!

Queen of Spain Fritillary (H Swift)

Sooty Copper (H Swift)

Scarce Swallowtail (H Swift)

Spotted Fritillary (H Swift)

Butterflies in Bulgaria (cont)

30

These are listed below in chronological order. There are further events in the pipeline, the detailsof which had not been finalised before this newsletter went to print. These events, along with anyothers that are organised during the course of the season, will be advertised on the BC HighlandBranch website and e-mailed to those members for whom we have an e-mail address. Apologiesto those who do not have ready access to a computer.If you are not on our e-mail list and would like to be added, please contact Audrey Turner, BranchMembership Secretary, unicorn64@btinternet.comIf you have any ideas for future field trips or other events please contact Pete Moore, EventsOrganiser, theconfused@btinternet.com . If you would like a field trip to take place in your localarea, get in touch and we'll see what we can organise.Please note that these events are open to both BC members and non-members.Car sharing. For environmental and social reasons it would be good if people car shared whenattending events. If you are travelling by car and happy to give someone else a lift or if you wouldlike a lift to an event, please contact the event leader beforehand and they will try to match peopleup.

Field trips and events, 2012Pete Moore

Introduction to Moths and Moth Trapping Workshop, Strontian,Ardnamurchan.Date: Sat March 24Time: 10.30amDuration: The event will finish mid afternoon.Meeting place: The Sunart Centre in Strontian (Àrainn Shuaineirt). If youare travelling from Ardgour and the Corran ferry turn right just after Strontianvillage centre, before you cross the bridge and the centre is 500m down theroad and is the last building you come to. The centre is also signposted.Grid ref: NM16621. OS sheet 40 (Loch Shiel).

Description: The workshop will cover different aspects of moth trapping,identification and recording. Moth traps will be set locally the night beforeand all moths caught (weather permitting) will be released unharmed thefollowing day.What’s needed: Please bring a packed lunch. Tea/coffee and biscuits willbe provided. Please bring any photos of mystery moths for identification. Tobook a place and for more information please contact Tom Prescott(contact details below).Any other information: The workshop is being funded and run in partner-ship with West Highland College UHI and Highland Council.Leader name: Tom Prescott, Butterfly Conservation ScotlandLeader contact details: Tel: 01540 661469, Mobile: 07979 785665Email: tprescott@butterfly-conservation.org

March 2012

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Mid-week Moth Trapping at RSPB Insh Marshes NNRTarget Species: Rannoch Sprawler

Date: Tuesday April 3 (but possibly one of the following days, see below)

Time: 09.30am

Meeting place: Car parking space opposite the village noticeboard in themiddle of Insh village (on the B970 between Kingussie and Kincraig). Gridref: NH812016. OS sheet 35 (Kingussie & Monadhliath Mountains).

Description: Lynachlaggan Wood, part of Insh Marshes RSPB reserve, isa beautiful old birchwood with juniper understory where Rannoch Sprawleris star of the spring moths. However, in 2011, Scotland’s first record ofConformist was caught here. Although believed to be an immigrant, there isspeculation in some quarters that this species may be a previouslyoverlooked resident. Will it be found on this trip?!

Approx duration: 2 hours

Any other information: Since the nights can be very cold at this time ofthe year, if the forecast is bad for April 3 this event may be re-scheduled foreither Wednesday 4 or Thursday 5. Please phone Pete Moore a couple ofdays before for confirmation of date.

Leader name: Pete Moore

Leader contact details: theconfused@btinternet.com 07866 578079 or01479 872261

Culbin Forest evening Moth Trapping for Kentish Glory and othermoths.Target Species: Kentish Glory

Date: Friday 4th May 2012

Time: 8:30 p.m.

Meeting place: Culbin Forest, Wellhill Car Park. Grid reference NH997614OS sheet 27 (Nairn, Forres & surrounding area).

Description: A moth trapping event at night targeting Kentish Glory atvarious locations within Culbin Forest with the opportunity to view otherspring moths.

Approx duration: Until approximately midnight but may continue later ifconditions are good.

What’s needed: A torch and warm clothing, you may also wish to bringsomething warm to drink.

Leader name: Tom Prescott

Leader contact details: Tel: 01540 661469. Mob: 07979 785665

E-mail: tprescott@butterfly-conservation.org

Field trips and events (cont)

April 2012

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May 2012

Spring day-fliers, Achnahannet, near Grantown on SpeyTarget Species: Green Hairstreak butterfly and Netted Mountain moth

Date: Saturday May 12 or Sunday May 13

Time: 10am

Meeting place: Meet at the very end of the minor road (yellow on the OSmap) that leads north from the A938 between Carrbridge and Dulnain Bridge,past Achnahannet. Grid ref NH978279. OS sheet 36 (Grantown, Aviemore& Cairngorm),

Description: A short walk along an estate track through open heather andbearberry moorland.

Approx duration: 2 - 3 hours

Any other information: To see these early spring fliers, the weather willneed to be good. Therefore the day of the trip will be chosen nearer the timeon the basis of the best weather forecast. For confirmation of the date, pleasephone Pete Moore a couple of days before the weekend.

Leader name: Pete Moore

Leader contact details: theconfused@btinternet.com 07866 578079 or01479 872261

Lynwilg, Allt na Criche pathTarget Species: Pearl-Bordered Fritillary & Moths

Date: Saturday May 19

Time: 09.45 for 10.00am

Meeting place: Carpark behind Aviemore Post Office accessed by turninginto Myrtlefield from the main road through Aviemore and bearing right behindthe shops to the carpark, grid ref NH896128 OS sheet 36. We’ll condensecars as there isn’t much parking then drive to Lynwilg and park at grid refNH875110.

Description: A trip to see Pearl-bordered Fritillary, with a chance of someother butterflies and day-flying moths.

Approx duration: 3 hours as the path is quite steep in places and we willtake it slowly, although may be longer if the weather is good.

What’s needed: Packed lunch, the path is steep and rough in places soappropriate footwear will be needed as will waterproof clothing in case ofbad weather

Leader name: Audrey Turner

Leader contact details: email unicorn64@btinternet.com

Telephone 01479 811517, Mobile 07784 000263

May 2012

Field trips and events (cont)

33

Polmaily butterfly walk, near Drumnadrochit.Target Species: Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Dingy Skipper

Date: Saturday June 2 or Sunday June 3

Time: 10.30am

Meeting place: The end of the forest track into Polmaily, approx 2 mileswest of Drumnadrochit on the A831 towards Cannich. Grid ref NH484304.OS sheet 26 (Inverness & Loch Ness).

Description: A repeat of last year’s trip to see the results of habitatmanagement undertaken by enthusiastic branch members.

Approx duration: Up to 4 hours

What’s needed: Bring a packed lunch

Any other information: Whether the trip will be run on the Saturday or theSunday will be decided nearer the time dependant on the weather forecast.Please phone Mark a few days beforehand for the final decision.

Leader name: Mark Wynn

Leader contact details: 01463 729977

Logie Quarry, Kildary for Small Blue Butterflies.Target Species: Small Blue Butterfly and day-flying moths.

Date: Sunday June 10

Time: 10.30am

Meeting place: Parking at Quarry entrance, grid ref NH774761, OS sheet21 (Dornoch, Alness & Invergordon area). Follow road sign to Logie Quarry1 mile north of Kildary on the A9.

Description: This disused sand and gravel quarry covers an extensive area.It has a good mix of habitat - scrub, trees, expanses of grassland, and largeareas of dry gravel where Kidney Vetch, the food plant of the Small Blue,grows in abundance. Also, a number of ponds with dragonflies.

Approx duration: 3 – 4 hours depending on weather.

What’s needed: Packed lunch. Some areas can be damp so suitablefootwear is needed.

Any other information: Large numbers of Small Blue were seen here lastJune.

Leader name: Margaret Currie.

Leader contact details: Tel: 01349 877223E-mail: moths.vc106@btinternet.com

June 2012

Field trips and events (cont)

34

Glengorm, Isle of MullTarget Species: Marsh Fritillary, Transparent Burnet & Slender ScotchBurnet

Date: Saturday June 16

Time: 11.30am

Meeting place: Glengorm, approx 5 miles north-east of Tobermory. Theminor road to Glengorm ends at a tea-room/coffee shop. Just before thetea-room there is a"Walkers Car Park" signposted to the right. This is ourmeeting point. Grid ref: NM441571. OS sheet 47 (Tobermory). Please donot use the tea-room car park.

Description: A walk near the beautiful north coast of Mull to look for MarshFritillary and day-flying Burnet moths. Returning to the mainland on an earlyevening ferry will give you 5 or 6 hours at Glengorm, plenty of time! However,some folk will wish to stay overnight on Mull on the Saturday night and makea weekend of it, in which case it is proposed to have another get-togetheron the Sunday, the agenda for which will be decided on the Saturday. Thiscould be useful if the weather is poor on the Saturday.

Approx duration: Up to 5 hours at Glengorm with the option of a furtherget-together the next day.

What’s needed: Bring a packed lunch for Glengorm.

Any other information: For folk coming from the mainland, you will needto catch either the 10.25 ferry from Lochaline to Fishnish or the 09.30 ferryfrom Oban to Craignure. If you are crossing with a vehicle, advance bookingwith the ferry operators is highly advisable for Oban - Craignure. There isno advance booking for the Lochaline - Fishnish ferry, it is run on a first comefirst served basis. Arriving at the ferry terminal in plenty of time is thereforeadvisable. If you wish to cross as a foot passenger, in which case advanceferry booking not required, someone on the Mull side can collect you fromthe ferry and give you a lift to Glengorm. This will need to be arrangedbeforehand, please contact Pete Moore (details below).

Leader name: Pete Moore

Leader contact details: theconfused@btinternet.com07866 578079 or 01479 872261

June 2012

Field trips and events (cont)

35

Kiltarlity area Pine-tree Lappet moth surveyDate: Friday June 22 and Saturday June 23

Time: 8.30pm

Meeting place: Car park of Brockie’s Lodge Hotel, Kiltarlity. Grid ref:NH514418. OS sheet 26 (Inverness & Loch Ness).

Description: Further targeted trapping to ascertain the status anddistribution of Pine-tree Lappet moth.

What’s needed: Bring your own moth traps if you have them.

Any other information: Depending on the number of people, traps andgenerators, we will split into groups to trap as many different local sites aspossible. To help effective co-ordination of the survey please inform TomPrescott before-hand if you plan to attend.

If you cannot attend but would like to look for this moth at another time duringits flight period (latter half of June into early July), please also get in touchwith Tom who will help arrange sites and access permissions.

Leader name: Tom Prescott

Leader contact details: Tel: 01540 661469. Mob: 07979 785665

E-mail: tprescott@butterfly-conservation.org

Spinningdale moth trappingDate: Sat 23nd June

Time: 10 am

Meeting place: Meet at the car park just over 1km along the unclassifiedroad going NW from Spinningdale at NH667908 OS sheet 21 (Dornoch,Alness & Invergordon area).

Description: A look through moth traps run the previous night at thisWoodland Trust property

Leader name: Tony Mainwood

Leader contact details: Tel: 01408 633247.E-mail: tony.mainwood@btinternet.com.

June 2012

Field trips and events (cont)

36

Laide Wood moths and butterflies, part of Gairloch Wildlife Week.Target Species: Whatever is there!

Date: Monday June 25 AND Tuesday June 26

Time: 9.00am

Meeting place: Laide Wood car park which is on the A832 just outside Laide,heading towards Aultbea. Grid ref: NG900916. OS sheet 19 (Gairloch &Ullapool).

Description: A look through a moth trap, followed by a short butterfly walkaround the Community Woodland.

Approx duration: 2 to 3 hrs

Any other information: If the weather is unsuitable (heavy rain/strongwinds) the event will be re-scheduled if possible. For more information or tocheck on status contact Barry Blake below.

Leader name: Barry Blake

Leader contact details: Tel: 01445 712075.E-mail: bcb@ancro.plus.com

Assich Forest butterflies and moths.Target Species: Six-spot Burnet moth

Date: Sunday July 8th

Time: 10 am

Meeting place: End of lane in Assich Forest Grid ref: NH812471. OS sheet27 (Nairn, Forres & surrounding area). There’s a small amount of parkingspace there.

Approx duration: 3 hours, though it can be open to what the weather isdoing.

What’s needed: Packed lunch. We will be walking on forestry tracks, someof which are stony so good footwear is recommended.

Any other information: The bridge below Cantraybridge College is closedto vehicles, so from the Nairn-Forres direction approach via Cawdor thenEaster Galcantray. From Inverness, approach via Culloden Moor and Clava.From the south, A9, via Craggie to Cantraydoune then Wester Galcantray.

Leader names: Suzanne Gyseman and Rowan Moore

Leader contact details: 01667 493406

June 2012

July 2012

Field trips and events (cont)

37

Mid-week moths and butterflies at RSPB Insh Marshes NNR.Target Species: Whatever is flying!

Date: Wednesday July 25

Time: 9.30am

Meeting place: RSPB Insh Marshes main car park. Grid ref: NN775999.OS sheet 35 (Kingussie & Monadhliath Mountains).

Description: A look at moths caught the previous night and a walk to lookfor butterflies.

Approx duration: Until mid-afternoon

What’s needed: Bring a packed lunch

Leader name: Pete Moore

Leader contact details: theconfused@btinternet.com 07866 578079 or01479 872261

September2012

July 2012

Difficult species moth workshop with Mark Young and Roy Leverton.Date: Sat Sept 1

Time: Tea/coffee and biscuits from 10.00am for a 10.30am start.

Meeting place: Aigas Field Centre. On the A831 between Beauly and Cannichat NH461416.

OS sheet 26 (Inverness & Loch Ness).

Description: The main theme of the workshop is "tricky" species covering theidentification of difficult groups such as the "ear moths", Epiritta species, variousconfusing carpets and noctuids.

As usual moth traps will have been set overnight so there should be a goodcollection of moths on which to test your skills! It may also be possible to makesome initial steps at looking at genitalia for confirming identifications and maybehunt for some micros in the surrounding habitat.

Approx duration: 4.00pm to 4.30pm finish

Any other information: A buffet lunch will be provided and there will betea/coffee andbiscuits in the afternoon.

Photographs of some of these species for identification will be welcome andso will any already existing voucher specimens but please do not bring livemoths.

The workshop is being part funded by Highland Branch and there is a chargeof £10 per person.BOOKING IS ESSENTIALLeader name: Tony Mainwood.

Leader contact details: Tel 01408 633247e-mail: tony.mainwood@btinternet.com

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Field trips and events (cont)

Polmaily Work Party, near DrumnadrochitDate: Saturday September 15

Time: 10.30

Meeting place: At the end of the forest track into Polmaily, approx 2 mileswest of Drumnadrochit on the A831 towards Cannich. Grid ref: NH484304.OS sheet 26 (Inverness & Loch Ness)

Description: Another session of scrub clearance to improve the habitat forPearl-bordered Fritillary and Dingy Skipper.

Approx duration: Up to 5 or 6 hours but you are welcome to join in andleave whenever you want to. Every little helps so if you only want to comefor an hour that will still be very welcome.

What's needed: Bring lunch and wear old clothes. Bring secateurs, loppersand bow-saws if you have them. Further hand-tools will be available.

Any other information: This was a well attended session last year in spite of the rain!

Leader name: Tom Prescott

Leader contact details: Tel: 01540 661469 Mob: 07979 785665E-mail: tprescott@butterfly-conservation.org

Lairg for Slender-striped RufousTarget Species: Slender-striped Rufous moth

Date: One day between 20th and 30th September depending on theweather.

Time: Two options any time from 7pm to late and/or the following morningfrom 10am.

Meeting place: Forestry Commission Depot at Lairg (on the A839 roadout of Lairg heading west for Rosehall and Lochinver) at NC578056 OSsheet 16

Description: Slender-striped Rufous is a "Nationally Scarce A" speciesonly found in the north of Scotland. Foodplants etc are poorly known andthe species is probably under-recorded because of its habitat (uplandrough pasture with juncus flushes) and flight period (mid Sept to earlyOct). This trip aims to repeat a survey carried out in the area 18 years ago- but hopefully in rather better weather conditions.

Approx duration: A few hours (or more or less!)

What's needed: Warm clothing, waterproofs and wellies plus a good torchif you are coming to the evening session

Any other information: Please contact Tony Mainwood in advance if youare interested in attending this event. It is only sensible to finalise the dateonce weather forecasts are available and Tony will get back to you toconfirm the date 3 or 4 days ahead of the chosen date - by e-mail(preferable) or phone.

Continued on P39

September2012

39

Field trips and events (cont)

40

Field trips and events (cont)

People attending this event can either come for an evening session to helpsearch for adults as it gets dark and/or turn up the following morning tocheck the traps.

Leader name: Tony Mainwood

Leader contact details: Tel: 01408 633247.E-mail: tony.mainwood@btinternet.com

September2012

Continued fromP38

Branch CommitteeChairmanJimmy McKellar24 Scorguie GardensINVERNESSIV3 8SSTel: 01463 241 185Email: jimmy.mckellar@btopenworld.comMembership SecretaryAudrey TurnerMinute SecretaryBarbara BrodieTreasurerAudrey TurnerEvents OrganiserPete MooreCommittee MembersMalcolm HarveyTony MainwoodBrigid PrimroseBill Slater (web/newsletter)Mike TaylorMark Wynn

Butterfly RecordersHighland and MorayDr David Barbour125a High StreetABERLOURBanffshireAB38 9PBEmail: dbfis@btinternet.comOuter Hebrides / Western IslesSteve Duffield5 DrimsdaleS UistHS8 5RTTel: 01870 620 241Mob: 07867 555 971Email: steveduffield@hebrides.netOrkneySydney GauldQuoyberstaneWork RoadSt OlaKirkwallKW15 1UFTel: 01856 872 468Email: orklander45@gmail.com

ShetlandMike Pennington9 Daisy BankBaltasoundUnstZE2 9EAEmail: penningtonunst@btinternet.com

County Moth RecordersVC 94, BanffshireRoy Leverton, Whitewells, Ordiquhill, Cornhill, Banff-shire, AB54 2HS.Email: roy345@btinternet.comVC 95, MorayMikel Taylor, Allasdale, Kinchurdy Road, Boat of Gar-ten, Inverness-shire, PH34 3BP.Email: mst.taylor@btinternet.com,Tel 01479 831060VC 96, East Inverness-shireMike Taylor, Allasdale, Kinchurdy Road, Boat of Gar-ten, Inverness-shire, PH34 3BP.Email: mst.taylor@btinternet.com,Tel 01479 831060VC 97, West Inverness-shireDr Tom Prescott, Mill House, Mill Road,Kingussie, Inverness-shire, PH21 1LF.E-mail: tomprescott@btinternet.comVC 104, North Ebudes, Skye:Brian Neath, Culag, Carr Brae, Dornie, Kyle, Ross-shire, IV40 8HA.Email: bandj@culag.plus.com, Tel: 01599 555341.Small Isles: Jessie Mackay, Fionchra,Carsfad, St John's Town of Dalry, Castle Douglas,DG7 3SU.Email: mackay@entomology.freeserve.co.uk,Tel: 01644 430248.

VC 105, West Ross

Brian Neath, Culag, Carr Brae, Dornie, Kyle, Ross-shire, IV40 8HA.Email: bandj@culag.plus.com,Tel: 01599 555341.VC 106, East RossMargaret Currie and Andy Scott,7 Balnatua, Culbokie,Dingwall, Ross-shire, IV7 8JQE-mail: moths.vc106@btinternet.com,Tel: 01349 877223

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VC 107, East SutherlandTony Mainwood, 13 Ben Bhraggie Drive,Golspie, Sutherland, KW10 6SX.Email: tony.mainwood@btinternet.com,Tel: 01408 633247.

VC 108, West Sutherland

Sue Agnew, 78 Strathkanaird, Ullapool,Ross-shire, IV26 2TP.Email: sue.agnew@virgin.net,Tel: 01854 666225.VC 109, CaithnessNeil Money, Heathfield House, Dunnet,Thurso, Caithness, KW14 8XP.Email: neil.money@btconnect.com,Tel: 01847 851346www.caithnessmoths.org.ukVC110, Outer HebridesSteve Duffield, 5 Drimsdale, South Uist,Western Isles, HS8 5RT.E-mail: steveduffield@hebrides.net,Tel: 01870 620241 (h), 07867 555971 (m).

VC111, Orkney Islands

Sydney Gauld, Quoyberstane, Work Road,St Ola, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1UF.Email: orklander45@gmail.com,Tel: 01856 872468.

VC112, Shetland Islands

Paul Harvey, Shetland Biological Record Centre,Shetland Amenity Trust, Garthspool, Lerwick,ZE1 0NY

Email: sbrc@shetlandamenity.org

Fair Isle: Nick Riddiford, Schoolton, Fair Isle,Shetland, ZE2 9JU.

E-mail: nick.riddiford@lineone.net,Tel: 01595 760250.

Butterfly ConservationCompany limited by guarantee, registered inEngland (2206468)Registered Office: Manor Yard, East Lulworth,Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5QPCharity registered in England & Wales (254937) and inScotland (SCO39268)

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