Their garden is set in a rural village on the East Coast of Lincolnshire, situated around 2 miles as the crow flies, from the sand dunes at Donna Nook (most people will know it for the seal colony) and also with surrounding farmland. The garden itself possesses various areas of plants, shrubbery, trees, grasses and a large fruit and vegetable growing area. Previous highlights have included Merveille de Jour, Clifden Nonpareil and Brown-veined Wainscot - I wonder what this weekend will bring (SPOILER - I think it went rather well 🤣).
As per normal I will have a look at around 5 highlights from each session and then will provide photos where possible, rounding off the blog with the full list of species recorded and their relevant numbers. Let's take a look at what we found!
*Disclaimer - I won't generally be able to provide stats for the moths in terms of records/specimens as Lincolnshire doesn't have a handy website like Yorkshire et al. I will provide a specimen record for Yorkshire & Norfolk to give a general idea of how numbers may change.
Our first moth comes in the form of one that I haven't seen before.
Tree-lichen Beauty (Cryphia algae) Recorded in Session: 1
Size: 10-13mm Forewing
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| Tree-lichen Beauty |
Flight Season: June - September
Larval Foodplant: Lichens on Trees
Total Specimens: Yorkshire 177 Norfolk 6,095
Confusion Species: n/a
Tree-lichen beauty has been considered a migrant moth in most counties for quite some time. This is because up until 1991 there had only been 3 records for this moth within the UK. As the 90s' progressed the scarcity of Tree-lichen Beauty changed from being "an extremely rare migrant" to "a regular migrant species". In the first few years of the 00s' it was now reliably breeding within the south of the country.
Twin-spotted Wainscot (Lenisa geminipuncta) Recorded in Session: 1
Size: 11 - 16mm Forewing
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| Twin-spotted Wainscot |
Flight Season: August - September
Larval Foodplant: Common Reed
Total Specimens: Yorkshire 1,014 Norfolk 1,455
Confusion Species: Brown-veined Wainscot
Twin-spotted Wainscot is a species that is most popular in the south of England and also in South Wales, however it has spread its range a lot more since the turn of the century. It has been providing stable numbers across the surrounding counties with an average of 64 specimens in Yorkshire across the last 5 years & 98 specimens in Norfolk. Overall, still very much a case of a good moth to find in your trap on a morning.
Metalampa italica (Italian Bark Moth) Recorded in Session: 1
Size: 13 - 14mm Wingspan |
| Metlampa italica |
Flight Season: August
Larval Foodplant: Under the dead bark of trees
Total Specimens: Lincolnshire 9 Yorkshire 25 Norfolk 724
Confusion Species: n/a
Metalampa italica was only first recorded in the UK in 2003 down in Devon, which came as quite a surprise, given that prior to that, it hadn't been recorded outside of Italy. Further South, there are now some numerous records which has led experts to believe, that it is now highly likely to be breeding in the Southern counties of the UK. The larvae it is thought feed under the dead bark on trees, in particularly on the fungi, that are growing under there too. Some of the dispersion for this species can also be possibly attributed to the log trade. I am under the impression that the neighbours use logs to heat their hot tub so this could also be a linked reason for the sighting.
Dog's Tooth (Lacanobia suasa) Recorded in Session: 1
Size: 15 - 20mm Forewing
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| Dog's Tooth |
Flight Season: May - July & July - September
Larval Foodplant: Herbaceous plants - but happier on Saltmarsh plants
Total Specimens: Yorkshire 2,103 Norfolk 3,350
Confusion Species: Pale-shouldered Brocade & Bright-Line Brown-Eye
This is a moth that I have only recorded on 1 previous occasion and that was also in the same garden on 19.06.23. Now depending what literature you read the scarcity of this species can vary. Looking through websites such as Yorkshire/Norfolk Moths & UK Moths it is probably best described as a "locally distributed resident" in those areas. If you refer to the "Bloomsbury Concise Guide to Moths: Second Edition - it is still labelled as a "rare immigrant". However given its current breeding status especially down south where it can be double-brooded, I would tend to stick with the first description.
Privet Hawk-moth (Sphinx ligustri) Recorded in Session: 2
Size: 41-55mm Wingspan
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| Privet Hawk-moth |
Flight Season: June - July
Larval Foodplant: Wild & Garden Privet, Ash, Lilac & Guelder-rose
Total Specimens: Yorkshire 762 Norfolk 11,894
Confusion Species: Convolvulous Hawk-moth & Pine Hawk-moth
We are running out of possible options for Hawk-moths in the areas I currently record, however it wouldn't be a rendition of a Marvellous Moths blog without some nod to these crackers. The Privet Hawk-moth could put up a pretty good fight for being the king of the Hawk-moths purely based on size alone. With a wingspan of over 5cm, the Privet Hawk-moth is the largest resident species of Moth. This is another Moth species where they are more prevalent in the South and the further North you travel, the scarcer they become. It is a very reliable species within their garden, having been recorded in 4 of the last 5 years - only missing in 2024 likely due to the fact on 2 sessions were held.
Overall numbers wise, it was a fantastic start to the weekend and the numbers pulled in were not really expected. The final figure was 734:88 which is the largest haul from their garden in a single session. As per normal fashion I will leave a full list of the moths below and the usual but very important message of thanks.
Acleris forsskaleana 1
Agonopterix alstromeriana 1
Argyresthia goedartella 1
Bird-Cherry Ermine 91
Box Moth 1
Bright-Line Brown-Eye 3
Brimstone 1
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 23
Brown-Line Bright-Eye 1
Buff Ermine 3
Cabbage Moth 1
Calamtropha paludella 3
Chinese Character 1
Chrysoteuchia culmella 16
Cloaked Minor 5
Clouded Border 3
Common Footman 3
Common Rustic Agg. 104
Common Wainscot 3
Dark Arches 34
Dark/Grey Dagger 6
Diamond-back Moth 2
Dingy Footman 11
Dog's Tooth 1
Dot Moth 1
Dun-bar 3
Dusky Sallow 19
Ear Moth Agg. 2
Elephant Hawk-moth 3
Endotricha flammealis 1
Epiblema foenella 1
Eudonia pallida 1
Euzophera pinguis 1
Fan-Foot 2
Flame Shoulder 8
Gold Triangle 2
Heart & Dart 2
Hummingbird Hawk-moth 1 (flying around at dusk on Lavender)
July Highflyer 5
Knot Grass 2
Large Yellow Underwing 55
Latticed Heath 3
Least Carpet 4
Least Yellow Underwing 5
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 35
Lesser Yellow Underwing 5
Light Arches 2
Light Brown Apple Moth 3
Lime-speck Pug 2
Lychnis 1
Metalampra italica 1
Mint Moth 2
Mother of Pearl 34
Mottled Beauty 1
Nutmeg 2
Pebble Hook-tip 3
Peppered Moth 1
Pine Hawk-moth 1
Privet Hawk-moth 2
Riband Wave 3
Ringed China-mark 2
Rivulet 1
Ruby Tiger 28
Sallow Kitten 2
Scalloped Oak 2
Scarce Footman 15
Setaceous Hebrew Character 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 65
Silky Wainscot 1
Silver Y 5
Single-dotted Wave 1
Slender Pug 2
Small Blood-vein 1
Small Magpie 1
Smoky Wainscot 19
Southern Wainscot 2
Spectacle 7
Straw Dot 2
Swallow Prominent 5
Tree-lichen Beauty 1
Turnip Moth 5
Twin-spotted Wainscot 1
Udea prunalis 1
Uncertain/Rustic 17
White Satin 3
Willow Beauty 1
Yellow Shell 2
Yellow-tail 3
If you have made it this far, thank you once again for taking the time out of your day to have a read - any suggestions on format etc are greatly appreciated.
Thanks must be added to the following organisations/websites where some of this data has been extracted:
Butterfly Conservation - Home page | Butterfly Conservation
Yorkshire Moths - Yorkshire Moths - The macro and micro moths of Yorkshire.
All of the moth recorders, County Recorders, Vice County Co-ordinators and website admins who make all of this data - make sense!
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