73.180 Barred Sallow Tiliacea aurago
On the morning of 11th October 2018 I (CM) inspected the moth trap as usual in my small suburban garden in Priory Park, Belfast. I deploy a Robinson trap with 125W MV bulb, which is set out on tarmac in front of the garden shed, where it is positioned to have least impact on neighbouring houses.
As I removed the lid I immediately noticed a sallow-type moth, which looked different to the pink-barred sallow Xanthia togata which is regular in the garden in small numbers. On consulting my copy of Waring and Townsend, I quickly confirmed that the moth was a barred sallow Tiliacea aurago. I subsequently found a second specimen within the trap, and having taken some photographs, I retained both specimens for further inspection.
I posted the photographs on the MothsIreland and Butterfly Conservation NI Facebook pages and it was confirmed that the species was new to Ireland.
The night of 10th/11th October was particularly warm for the time of year with a minimum temperature of 14.8C. My catch that night was otherwise typical of the time of year and included resident species such as Merveille du Jour (Moma alpium), Feathered Thorn (Colotois pennaria), Black Rustic (Aporophyla nigra) and Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata).
Barred sallow larvae feed on Beech Fagus sp. or Field Maple Acer campestre. Although neither occur in the neighbouring gardens, both species are thought to occur within Balmoral Golf Club which is across a road from the garden trap.
Having seen the moths which CM had taken, Ted Rolston (TR) decided to set out a moth trap in his garden on the night of October 12th, a few miles away at Beechdene Gardens, Lisburn. In the trap were six fresh barred sallow along with several pink-barred sallow which were rather faded in comparison. Following this, TR took a single specimen of the moth on October 15th, seven on October 20th and two on November 5th. No further specimens were taken by CM in his Priory Park garden.
The Barred Sallow appears to be spreading northwards from its original stronghold in south-eastern England and was also recorded in Scotland for the first time recently (Argyllshire 2017). Since the food plants are widespread across much of Ireland, it will be of interest to see whether the species is recorded from a wider area in autumn 2019 and beyond.
Clive Mellon and Ted Rolston
