Having read other contributors 2015 statistics and high-lights I thought I'd have a quick look at mine.
As I only started trapping in late May and have only got 15 night's records my overall totals are not great (108 species of macro) but did include some species that others had noted as high-lights (e.g. Tawny Pinion, Chocolate-tip, Bordered Straw).
In order to try pick out the more noteworthy species I tried using the distribution maps on the UK moths website but found that these often came up blank (maybe a problem with my computer?). However, when I logged into the nbn gateway website directly and found how to use the browse sites and browse species facilities and to focus in on Oxfordshire Vice county I found the results interesting. Firstly, of the 108 species I recorded 27 were not on the nbn records for the SP33 10km square. I than decided to look at the surrounding 10km squares and found that only 2 species were recorded for all 9 squares (cinnabar and silver Y) but this was largely due to a lack of records in SP44 and SP42 with only 16 and 42 records respectively (some work to be done here if the nbn records are up-to-date). At the other extreme the only species I recorded that was not previously recorded for any of the 9 squares was what I had identified as an Obscure Wainscot. I hope this is correct as there seem to be few records for Oxfordshire and the habitat doesn't seem quite right.
Sorry about the length of this contribution but I am waiting for the wind to stop blowing!
Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.
The full list of species that I recorded but were only on 2 or fewer of the surrounding 10km squares were as follows.
| Obscure Wainscot |
| Scarlet Tiger (day flying) |
| Blair's Shoulder Knot |
| Red-green Carpet |
| Satin Beauty |
| Vestal |
| Barred Sallow |
| Bordered Straw |
| Chocolate-tip |
| Coronet |
| Dark Chestnut |
| Heart & Club |
| Marbled Green |
Hello Andy, that's certainly an Obscure Wainscot in your picture.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what the current situation is in relation to the National Moth Recording Scheme and the distribution maps on UK-Moths and the NBN Gateway but there have been some problems and the data you can get access to may not be anywhere near up-to-date at the moment.
Of the other moths in your list, Vestal and Bordered Straw are migrants so could turn up anywhere. Scarlet Tiger (northwards) and Marbled Green (eastwards) are spreading their range so there's no real reason why you shouldn't get them although your county recorder might ask for a picture of the Marbled Green just to be sure. The others are all reasonably common and widespread and the only one I might query is Satin Beauty which I don't think I personally have ever seen away from coniferous woodland.
Thank you for your quick reply. I am certainly finding this blog most helpful and motivating and have been encouraged to keep trapping occasionally throughout the winter months. I will post pictures of the Marbled Green and possible Satin Beauty tomorrow if that is OK. I am pretty confident about the Marbled Green but am now having serious doubts about the Beauty.
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