The weather leading up to the event looked perfect with warm days and cloudy nights - with little to no wind; of course that changed entirely once the event arrived with temperatures on an evening dropping to nearly single figures at Bempton, combined with a firm breeze and clear skies. Of course, Moths still appeared but nowhere near the level of 2023 where nearly 1500 Moths were recorded over 3 nights. Over the 2 nights 391 moths of 50 species were recorded - unsurprisingly given the recent changes in the weather, both the look and the results suggest Autumn is either here, or just around the corner. Let's take a look at some Moths.
The most common Moth recorded over the 2 nights was Square-spot Rustic.
Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa) Recorded over Weekend: 86
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| Square-spot Rustic |
Flight Season: July - October
Larval Foodplant: Grasses & Small Herbaceous Plants
Total Records: 34,960 Total Specimens: 254,070 Total Specimens for Site: 534
Confusion Species: Garden Dart
Square-spot Rustic is a widespread and abundant moth across the county, in fact there aren't many areas where it hasn't been recorded - covering 85% of the 200, 10km squares that cover Yorkshire. Square-spot Rustic made it in to the top 10 recorded moths in Yorkshire in 2024 - reaching number 9 with 2,121 records, totalling 10,675 individual specimens. Since 2000, Square-spot Rustic has certainly held its numbers. In 2000, there were 3,529 specimens and there has been a steady rise ever since. This also includes some yearly spikes in 2006 - 14,550 specimens, 2016 - 13,167 specimens & 2022 - 17,806 specimens.
The second Moth to look at is White-point. (New record for site)
White Point (Mythimna albipuncta) Recorded over Weekend: 5
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| White-point |
Size: 14-17mm Forewing
Flight Season: May - November (predominantly July - September)
Larval Foodplant: Grasses
Total Records: 421 Total Specimens: 613 Total Specimens for Site: 5
Confusion Species: Clay
White-point has pretty much always been deemed a migrant moth in Yorkshire, however this has started to change over recent years given the increase in records of this Moth. White-point was first recorded in Yorkshire in 1997 and yet it was another 7 years before it was rediscovered, when double figure records were recorded at Spurn & again in 2005. Since 2020 numbers again have started rise from 7, then 28, 90, 134 & finally 250 specimens in 2024. Going on local reports from other Moth recorders and also my own data - I'm going to be extremely surprised if that number is not surpassed again. Based off this information, the status is now changing to localised resident as the rate of colonisation increases and it continues to spread west.
Talking of Migrant Moths - our next moth is Bordered Straw. (New record for site)
Bordered Straw (Heliothis peltigera) Recorded over Weekend: 1
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| Bordered Straw |
Size: 16-19mm Forewing
Flight Season: All Year but mainly June - August
Larval Foodplant: Herbaceous Plants
Total Records: 277 Total Specimens: 353 Total Specimens for Site: 1
Confusion Species: Scarce Bordered Straw & Eastern Bordered Straw
Bordered Straw is a very sporadic migrant that seems to either turn up in good numbers, or not at all. The numbers each year go through rather large peaks & troughs with the largest peaks in 2006, 2015 & 2022. The troughs come in the form of 0 records in a year in 2007, 2010 to 2014 & 2016 to 2017. Last year there was just 1 specimen recorded, so as a county - at least that's been matched! 🤣 The most recent record for this Moth in the local area was 2022. Although the Moth can potentially be seen any time of year, June to August will remain the time where it is more likely to be recorded with only 14 of the last 100 records being outside of that time frame.
Our next moth moves into the micro section - Epinotia nisella. (New for site)
Epinotia nisella (Brindled Poplar Tortrix) Recorded over Weekend: 1
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| Epinotia nisella |
Size: 12-17mm Wingspan
Flight Season: July - October
Larval Foodplant: Sallow & Poplar
Total Records: 1,307 Total Specimens: 2,756 Total Specimens for Site: 1
Confusion Species: n/a
Despite the low numbers recorded overall, Epinotia nisella is deemed a common and widespread resident within the county. Since 2000, the numbers have been very stable overall with the larger peaks in the last few years - peaking at 385 specimens in 2023. This is another species that is a new record for the reserve. It is likely though that Micro Moths specifically are very under recorded at Bempton and I'm sure over the next few years, some more new records will keep appearing now there is more of a focus on them.
The next Moth is the one that definitely caught the attention of the most people who came and had a chat about Moths on the Sunday - Burnished Brass.
Burnished Brass (Plusia festucae) Recorded over Weekend: 1
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| Burnished Brass |
Size: 17-19mm Forewing
Flight Season: June - July (Occasionally Aug - Oct)
Larval Foodplant: Nettle & Herbaceous Plants
Total Records: 18,472 Total Specimens: 36,800 Total Specimens for Site: 36
Confusion Species: n/a
Burnished Brass is one of those Moths that you just have to love finding in the trap on a morning. If you get the right conditions just as the sun starts to rise, that metallic sheen really emphasises why the moth gets it's name - the photo really doesn't do it justice. Staggeringly this is the only Burnished Brass I have come across this year. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the year goes as this Moth has been on a downward trend for the last few years, with only 758 specimens recorded in 2024 - half of what was recorded in 2022! The possible caveat to this, is that at least as far as the last 100 specimens were concerned for '24, these all came between 02/09 & 06/10.
The final Moth of the blog will be a new one for me.
Small Wainscot (Denticucullus pygmina) Recorded over Weekend: 3
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| Small Wainscot |
Size: 10-14mm Forewing
Flight Season: August - September
Larval Foodplant: Sedges & Grasses
Total Records: 3,426 Total Specimens: 7,851 Total Specimens for Site: 10
Confusion Species: Small Rufous & Mere Wainscot
A variable species in colour with forms being a pale buff colour, like the ones we recorded, all the way through to, a deep, reddish brown. Generally a fairly common species across the UK and recorded in larger numbers in wet/ damp boggy habitats. Numbers wise, over the years it has had it's ups and downs and was showing some positive signs through to 2022, where 414 specimens were recorded. However since then, its all been downhill with 214 specimens in '23 and down again to only 94 in '24. Is this another species, that is sadly going the way of many in the UK - and falling away due to the ever changing climate & other variable environmental factors having reached its lowest yearly count in 17 years and it's 6th lowest in 25 years.
Overall, the event was great success and lots of adults and children alike managed to connect with nature in so many ways, all whilst learning new facts, gaining new interests and generally having fun. It was really pleasing to chat to so many people about moths, whether it be conquering fears, myth busting common misconceptions or people showing an interest in starting the hobby and asking many questions about equipment and processes.
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.
Full list of Moths over the weekend:
Acleris laterana/comariana
Acleris sparsana
Acleris variegana
Agapeta hamana
Agriphila tristella
Blastobasis adustella
Bordered Straw
Bright-Line Brown-Eye
Broad-Bordered Yellow Underwing
Brown House Moth
Burnished Brass
Catoptria falsella
Celypha lacunana
Cochylimorpha straminea
Coleophora Agg.
Common Carpet
Common Marbled Carpet
Common Rustic Agg.
Common Wainscot
Dark Arches
Dark Fruit-Tree Tortrix
Dark Sword-grass
Depressaria radiella
Dingy Footman
Elachista canapennella
Epinotia nisella
Flame Shoulder
Flounced Rustic
Ghost Moth
Gold Spot
Green Carpet
Large Yellow Underwing
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Light Brown Apple Moth
Mouse Moth
Pebble Prominent
Poplar Hawk-moth
Rosy Rustic
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Shuttle-shaped Dart
Single Dotted Wave
Six-striped Rustic
Small Square-spot
Small Wainscot
Spectacle
Square-spot Rustic
Turnip Moth
Udea lutealis
Vine's Rustic
White-point
Thanks must be added to the following organisations/websites where some of this data has been extracted:
RSPB Bempton Cliffs Events - RSPB Bempton Cliffs Events
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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