NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

Living in the south-east of the UK does have its compensations, none more so than being in a geographical hot-spot for the welcoming of colonising species of moth, whether they be from the continent or breaking away from a previous coastal distribution. Global warming might be a convenient reason behind such movements, but it is most probably more compilcated than that. The species outlined below would have all been the subject of pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking when I first switched on the Banstead moth trap back in 1987... Small Ranunculus (below) This species used to be a resident in the south-east of England until the early part of the 20th century, when it suddenly disappeared. It was then rediscovered along the Thames Estuary in the 1990s, slowly spreading eastwards and reaching the garden on August 5 2004. It is almost annual here now, but no more than 2-3 are recorded in a single year. Toadflax Brocade (below) I used to see this species at Dungeness when it was cons...

Well, this infestation of Plutella xylostell a has certainly livened up the moth scene no end - it was starting to look like the poor spring was also infecting the early summer. I hadn't been putting the trap out seeing it has been so damn chilly and damp most nights. But now the moth Gods have decided to dump millions upon millions of the little darlings across the country. Some counts (or at least educated estimates) that are being announced are just staggering. The true total will never be known, but that doesn't take away anything from the sheer spectacle being strewn before us. On a parochial level, things stepped up last night, with the single MV in the garden holding 784 xylostella this morning. Numbers of macro moths are still depressed though, worryingly so here in Banstead. However, there were two (no, three) highlights along with all of those tiny migrants, namely Cypress Carpet (above, second garden record) and two Grass Rivulets (below, second and third recor...

I've been expecting a Cypress Carpet to come along and pay me a visit here in Banstead for some time now. This species has become established (albeit patchily) across the south of England, and 'my' part of Surrey seems to be a bit of a stronghold. However, whereas other local lepidopterists to the north, south, east and west of me casually reel them in, I have failed - until last night (see above). So, Cypress Carpet joins an ever increasing list of species that, back in 1987 when I first starting recording here, were but flights of fancy - Toadflax Brocade, Small Ranunculus, White-point, Tree-lichen Beauty and Jersey Tiger to name but five. What next?

Moths have a good habit of jumping from the European mainland and colonising the south-east of England, mainly thanks to global warming, a weak Euro and a wish to escape from bland Europop. Dungeness being just about as south-east as south-east gets on this island of ours therefore gets to paw these colonisers before most other places. Take this Plumed Fan-foot for example. In 1995 Barry Banson checked his Greatstone-based MV (just north of Dungeness) and spied an unfamiliar moth. It was the UK's first Plumed Fan-foot. I was lucky enough to visit Barry on a daily basis during my stay and to go through his two MVs. We recorded four individuals which pleased me no end. Cypress Carpets may be old hat now, but I still don't see that many of them. We recorded this species frequently enough at Barry's and the bird observatory to make mention of it almost pointless. How times change. Evergestis limbata hasn't quite got to the level of making lepidopterists yawn ye...