89 NOTES ON SOME SUFFOLK MOTHS, 1999

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 36 (2000)

Hook-streak Grass-veneer Moth, Crambus pratella L. (= dumetella Hb.) - an earlier record in need of confirmation.

This species was added to the Suffolk list by Stanley Wakely in 1966 from Thorpeness (Aston, 1995), although Morley (1937) had written “Merely local in England. UNRECORDED! - SURELY it occurs? - Ed.” Mike Hall has, however, recently drawn my attention to a note by William Rait-Smith (1947), as follows: “Crambus dumetellus Hb. several of pale form, Foxhall, 16 August, 1947.” This is an unusual note because Morley does not signal the occurrence as confirmation for Suffolk. It therefore seemed sensible to see whether the specimens could be located but extensive searches at Ipswich in the Morley collection and at Kensington in the Rait-Smith collections have drawn blanks. It appears that we must regard the Foxhall record as being in need of confirmation. Sincere thanks are due to Martin Sanford and Geoffrey Martin, who conducted the searches.

References Aston, A. (1995). Some Suffolk Pyralid Moths. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc., 31:

14. Morley, C. (1937). Final Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Suffolk, p. 124.

Ipswich: Suffolk Naturalists’ Society. Rait-Smith, W. (1947). Some Micro-moths of 1947. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc.,

6: 143.

Alasdair Aston