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...

It is not all that long ago that the Toadflax Brocade was considered anything but a very local species. First recorded in the UK in 1939 and as breeding in 1952, colonisation then started in earnest. In the mid-1980s, Skinner considered it 'Well established at Dungeness, Kent and found locally along the coast eastwards to Sandwich and westwards towards Angmering, West Sussex'. Even in the 1998 revision of his book he mentions only 11 other records away from this heartland. Graham Collins 'Larger Moths of Surrey' - published in 1997 - can only lay claim to a single Surrey record, from Bookham Common on 7 July 1970. By the turn of this century moths had started to appear further west along the south coast, and since then they have been recorded as far north as Yorkshire. Of more interest than these isolated wanderers has been the colonisation of London and the Home Counties. Which leads me on to Banstead... It was in the back garden on 17 August 2009 that I came acro...

It's been some time coming, but at last there was an evening that felt muggy and an MV trap that had plenty buzzing around it. There may not have been hundreds of moths to inspect at dawn, but there was a fair haul including plenty of species new for the year. Here are a couple of the more visual of them: Argyresthia trifasciata - not recorded in the UK until 1982 but now spreading north and west and becoming well established. To be found happily in gardens where it mines the leaves and shoots of Cypress. The white head separates it from similar species. Toadflax Brocade - breeds in my garden on Purple Toadflax where the larvae are easily found in the late summer. Once a scarce species of sparse coastal habitats in the south and south-east - now regularly found in London and the Home Counties.

This rather attractive caterpillar is Toadflax Brocade. At the moment the Purple Toadflax plants in my garden are yielding quite a few of them. Every time I walk past I cannot help but have a peek. It wasn't that many years ago that this species was but a fantasy moth in this part of the world.

Alright, a frenzy is a bit of an exaggeration, but this summer I have trapped four Festoon in the back garden, where as my total between 1987 - 2013 was also four. It's not as though mature oak and beech woodland has suddenly made a dash towards my garden, is it... Also last night saw the year's first Toadflax Brocade at the MV, a recent colonist to the garden. There was a time when Dungeness was the only place that I saw this species - Dave Walker told me recently that this has become a much scarcer capture in the bird observatory moth traps - some turnaround.

Tree-lichen Beauty - the second succesive year that I have recorded this species. I've seen it nowhere else except for my back garden. Toadflax Brocade - a resident now in its third year. I have found larvae on Purple Toadflax by the garage door If you wait long enough the species will ultimately come to you. It's not that long ago that Toadflax Brocade was a coastal specialist and now it has colonised parts of London and Surrey. And it wasn't that many years ago that Dave Walker, warden at Dungeness Bird Observatory, let me know that he had just trapped the first UK modern day record of Tree-lichen Beauty. I considered driving 90 miles to look at it, but decided not to. I only have to walk 10m from my back door to the MV now to see one. Strange days...

This summer has seen a bit of a dip in my efforts towards recording moths. The garden MV trap has not been out all that often, so the addition of Orange Footman to the garden list was down to luck rather than hard slog. I did record two adult Toadflax Brocades (pictured above), hot on the heels of last years larvae found on Purple Toadflax (just by the garage door). My week at Dungeness back in July supplied me with three new species - Cypress Carpet, Orache Moth and Rosy Wave. The first mentioned is something that has been colonising Surrey and I would hope to trap it soon in the garden. Another coloniser of London, Jersey Tiger, has continued to show in good numbers this year, but hasn't come far south enough to be a genuine garden target. One day.... My promise to get 'in amongst the micros' was spectacularly broken. It just hasn't happened. I don't know why I cannot readily embrace the little sods. It's not as though they are all brown and need a microscope ...