Rare moth sightings

Cypress Carpet (Thera cupressata) – New to Ireland

17th June 2020 was the fourth night in a row that I’d put the trap out (20W actinic, mains operated, heath trap). There had been a spell of relatively mild nights with temperatures staying above 12/13 degrees and I’d had a good run for my small suburban garden, near the coast in south Dublin. Several new species for my list had turned up including Pale Tussock, Iron Prominent, Lychnis and Lime-speck Pug.  It was dull and cloudy when I checked the trap on the morning of the 18th and it looked quiet. There was a Peppered Moth beside the trap (as there had been each of the previous mornings) and some sort of carpet sitting on the outside of the trap. An initial glance suggested the carpet might be one of those indistinguishable Spruce/Grey Pine carpets but closer inspection ruled that out. I potted it, took a couple of photos, and popped it into the fridge. A scan through Waring and Townsend ruled out any of the likely species, so I posted the images on the Moths Ireland Facebook page for help. Before long, a cryptic message posted by Ken Bond (“Retain this!”) was followed by confirmation from Dave Allen that the species was in fact Cypress Carpet, a new record for Ireland. The species was first recorded in England in 1984 and has been spreading since, reaching south Wales in 2006. The specimen has been retained for mounting by Ken Bond and will be submitted to the Natural History Museum.

Ferdia Marnell

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49.275 Eucosma conterminana – New to Ireland. Tony Bryant

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.

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Lime Hawk-moth Mimas tiliae proved resident in Ireland

Lime Hawk-moth Mimas tiliae, Phibsborough Dublin Sept 2015 © Gavin Hoey 

Two eagle eyed girls spotted a large caterpillar which had fallen out of a Lime tree in Dublin.

This was identified as Lime Hawk-moth and photos were forwarded to MothsIreland for confirmation. The blue horn, the warts on the anal flap and the green head with white stripes are diagnostic. This is the 3rd Irish record. The 2 previous records were both adults and both also north Dublin City.

Lime Hawk-moth Mimas tiliae, Baldoyle Dublin, June 2015 ©Cian Merne

The first Irish record was in 2010 in Drumcondra. It was not known if it was of local origin or perhaps flew in from Britain where it is well established in southern England.

The case that it is resident became much stronger with the 2nd Irish re

cord of an adult that came to light earlier this year in Baldoyle. There’s no question about its residency now!

The species has been spreading northwards in England and so perhaps it will be seen away from north Dublin soon. It isn’t restricted to Lime. Birch and Alder regularly host the species and other tree species may be used as well.

Maybe you’ve seen either the caterpillar or adult, but didn’t know what it was or know of the significance? We’d like to hear about it.

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