At the invitation of a local conservation group, Martin Albertini, Peter Hall and I trapped a few times along the River Chess flood-plain at Latimer in 2012/13 and our memories are of few interesting moths in an area that always seemed to get cold very quickly. What was clear, though, was just how much Orange Balsam was present in the Chess. It was with this in mind that Martin and I returned last night and the conditions couldn't have been more different with the temperature still at 18C when we packed up after the usual three hours. In fact it was while packing up the final Skinner MV, which had already been dismantled, that the target species finally deigned to put in an appearance and the surprise factor (trying to find an appropriately-sized pot) meant that it almost escaped! However, this one female Balsam Carpet was eventually secured so job done.
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| Balsam Carpet, Latimer 24th July |
There are a couple of dozen records of this species for Bucks dating back to the 1950s, mostly from sites associated with the Thames and the Misbourne, but this is only the third from the current decade. It appears to be the first from this far up the Chess although the couple of sightings which Richard Ellis has had in his Chorleywood garden could well be associated with the same river.
Last night's collection of other moths wasn't substantial and was dominated by
Agriphila straminella,
Pleuroptya ruralis/Mother of Pearl, Ruby Tiger and Straw Dot. However, it was very nice to see several examples of Double Lobed as well as singletons of Clouded Magpie and Gypsy Moth.
Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks
I've caught Balsam Carpet in Watford, on the banks of the River Gade and Grand Union Canal. This, of course, is in Hertfordshire; but the Rivers Chess and Gade are both initially chalk streams which run into the Colne, which in turn runs into the Thames. So it is reasonable that anywhere that has good amounts of Orange Balsam along these interconnected waterways might also have Balsam Carpet.
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