I trapped a specimen of the Box Tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis at Tramore, Co. Waterford (grid reference S577013), on 24 July 2017. The specimen was identified as a male of the brown form of the species with reference to Leraut, P., (2012. Moths of Europe 3. NAP Editions), and was new to Ireland.
A member of the Crambidae family and native to Asia it is an invasive species believed to have been introduced to Europe with imported box (Buxus spp.) of which the moth is a notorious pest with its larvae capable of defoliating the plants, Buxus sempervirens, B. microphylla and B. colchica. It is also recorded on Purple Holly (Ilex purpurea) and Japanese Spindle (Euonymus japonicus). First noted from Germany in 2007, it has since spread rapidly to many other European countries. A known strong flyer, the origin of the Tramore specimen may be immigrant in nature as its capture coincided with a spike in migrant activity. Two Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella, one Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta, three Rusty-dot Pearl Udea ferrugalis, three Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella and one Silver Y Autographa gamma were also trapped, additionally, a further 23 Silver Y’s were seen nectaring at dusk.
Thanks to Ken Bond, University College, Cork and J.R. Langmaid, Southsea, Hampshire who kindly confirmed the species. The specimen will be lodged with the National Museum of Ireland, Natural History, Dublin.
Tony Bryant.
Bryant, T., 2017. Cydalima perspectalis (Walker, 1859) (Lep.: Crambidae), new to Ireland. The Entomologist’s Record and Journal of Variation 129: 230-231.
On 13 August 2018, I took an unfamiliar micro-moth in a light-trap at Tramore, Co. Waterford (grid reference S577013). It was identified using the Field Guide to the Micromoths of Great Britain and Ireland as Apodia bifractella and is new to Ireland. The specimen was sent to Ken Bond who confirmed the identification. It will be lodged with the National Museum of Ireland, Natural History, Dublin.
The larva of A. bifractella feeds from mid-August to April in the seeds of Common Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica), Ploughman’s-spikenard (Inula conyzae) or Sea Aster (Aster tripolium), pupating from April to June, with the adults emerging during July and August. Due to the distribution of its foodplants, A. bifractella frequents a wide range of habitats including damp meadows, ditches, fens, marshes, saltmarshes, woodland rides and coastal landslips. It is found across Europe and North Africa, is widespread is southern England and is also found in N.W. England and N. Wales.
Tony Bryant
Bryant, T., 2018. Apodia bifractella (Duponchel, [1843]) (Lep.: Gelechiidae) new to Ireland. Entomologist’s Record & of Journal of Variation 130: 268.
On 23 August 2017 I took an unidentified micro-moth at a moth trap at Tramore, Co. Waterford (grid reference S577013). It was tentatively identified as Eucosma tripoliana but, as it occurred away from the saltmarsh habitat of that species, it was retained and passed to Ken Bond who later dissected it and determined it to be a male Eucosma conterminana and new to Ireland. The specimen will be lodged with the National Museum of Ireland, Natural History, Dublin.
In Britain this species is reported to fly from mid-June to September and early October. It inhabits chalk grassland, quarries, gardens, waste ground and roadside verges where it feeds on Great Lettuce Lactuca virosa and Prickly Lettuce Lactuca serriola. Although the latter foodplant is a recent addition to the Irish flora and found not too distant from the site of capture it seems unlikely E. conterminana is resident here, but rather an immigrant, as the days immediately before and after its capture coincided with increased migrant activity, e.g. Etiella zinckenella taken at Tramore on 25 August 2017 was also new to Ireland. E. conterminana is recorded from southern Britain and the Channel Islands and is found from Europe to China.
Tony Bryant and Ken Bond.
Bryant, T. & Bond, K.G.M., 2018. Eucosma conterminana (Guenée, 1845) (Lep.: Tortricidae) new to Ireland. Entomologist’s Record and Journal of Variation 130: 15.
Lempke’s Gold Spot – First confirmed Irish records
Hazel Watson
I have been lucky enough to live on Rathlin Island for nearly three years now and, with my husband Ric Else. We have been recording moths whenever the weather allows. In this time we have managed to record 337 species, and 143 of these were new for the island’s all-time moth list, which now stands at 376 species.
Before we arrived, moth recording on Rathlin had only been very sporadic and many of those moths we’ve recorded here for the first time are relatively common and widespread species that have presumably been here all along. While it is always rewarding to add new species to the list, we had yet to discover anything of real national significance. But the morning of 23rd July 2019 was to bring us a real find, and it was one we could so easily have missed!
That morning I had struggled to drag myself out of bed and was lagging behind the others. Still half asleep and with a mug of much-needed coffee in hand, I stumbled over to the mothing station where Ric was already getting on with the business of looking through the moth trap, assisted by a few of the keen RSPB volunteers from the cottage next door. Overnight the trap had been out in a nearby garden, where the McFauls very kindly provide excellent habitat for moths and moth-ers alike.
My eyes had barely begun to focus properly when I glanced down at a moth on an eggbox that had already been examined. In my drowsy state I could have been still dreaming, but something about the Gold Spot caught my eye. Could it possibly be….? “Isn’t that a Lempke’s Gold Spot?” I said to Ric, who surely thought I was delirious, but humoured me by having another look. We all peered closely at the moth in question. The two Gold Spot species are almost identical, but the apical streak of this one was undeniably blunt-ended – a feature of Lempke’s Gold Spot. “Surely THAT IS A LEMPKE’S!” I proclaimed triumphantly, suddenly wide awake as the penny was starting to drop that this was potentially a very exciting find. Ric had to admit it did look promising. We potted the individual for closer scrutiny later, as there were still plenty of other moths to look at in the trap. Each egg box was examined in turn, revealing a total catch of 98 individual moths of 37 species, and despite a few other goodies including our first Cloaked Minor, nobody cared much because Gold Spots were all we were interested in by this stage. In our catch we had turned up another two Gold Spots – one with typical markings and, quite unbelievably, a second that also looked a good candidate for Lempke’s. How thrilling, if this is what they really were!
Lempke’s Gold Spot (Rathlin 2019)
By this time we were running late for work, so it wasn’t until later that we could have a closer look at the two possible Lempke’s Gold Spots. Having spent the day chilling out in the fridge, both cooperated obligingly for forewing measurements, and with both at 15mm they fitted exactly within the published range for Lempke’s and at the smallest end of the range for Gold Spot (all the Gold Spots we have measured have been 16–18mm). After poring over many online images of wing markings, we felt confident that our two were consistent with Lempke’s and others who viewed our photos agreed. However, for positive identification, and as a potential national first, the specimens would have to be kept and sent away for confirmation under the microscope. As moth lovers, it is bittersweet to make an exciting find like this and have to preserve them as specimens, but it is necessary for the scientific record. We laid these two beautiful creatures to rest in the freezer, and we were delighted when Dr Ken Bond requested the specimens to be sent over from Rathlin.
Mothing at Kinramer Cottage, Rathlin, Co.Antrim
We were even more delighted a few weeks later when Ken performed the dissection and confirmed that both specimens were certainly Lempke’s Gold Spots, one male and one female. He also confirmed that these would be considered the first and second verified records of the species anywhere in Ireland.
We are thrilled to have found an Irish first on Rathlin, but we’re sure there are plenty more discoveries to be made on this exciting island.
Ireland’s first Marigold Shark Cucullia calendulae,
A species of Cucullia was taken by Tony Bryant at Tramore, Co. Waterford (grid reference S577013), on 25 December 2018 at the beginning of a period of unseasonable immigrant activity on the Waterford coast emanating from the Iberian Peninsula and Western France. Migrants trapped at the time included a Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella (L.), Small Mottled Willow Spodoptera exigua (Hb.) and Dark Sword-grass Agrotis ipsilon (Hufn.) on 27 and 28 December, while on 30 December another Small Mottled Willow was recorded, with further migrant activity reported along the Waterford and Cork coasts. The moth was identified as a Marigold Shark Cucullia calendulae with reference to Barron, S. Zilli, A. & Tunmore, M. (2018. The First British Record of Marigold Shark Cucullia calendulae Treitschke, 1835. Atropos62: 51-62) and www.lepiforum.de, but to rule out a similar resident species, the Chamomile Shark Cucullia chamomillae ([D. & S.]), it was passed to KGMB who later set, dissected and confirmed the moth as a male Cucullia calendulae Treitschke, 1835 Marigold Shark and new to Ireland.
Known from the Canary Islands, Iberian Peninsula, France, the Mediterranean and further afield C. calendulae is on the wing from October to April, with the moth overwintering and its larvae feeding from February through to June on members of the Asteraceae family, including Marigold (Calendula spp.).
The specimen will be lodged with the National Museum of Ireland, Natural History, Dublin.
Tony Bryant and Ken Bond
Bryant, T. & Bond, K.G.M., 2019. Marigold Shark Cucullia calendulae Treitschke, 1835 (Lep.: Noctuidae), a migrant new to Ireland. Entomologist’s Record & Journal of Variation 131: 64-65.
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