Black-spotted Chestnut

For now at least, Robin Knill-Jones continues to be the only known recorder in our area getting Black-spotted Chestnut Conistra rubiginosa, a situation that must surely change sometime soon!  So far this winter his garden trap in Denham, Bucks has produced the moth on 19th November (1), 22nd November (2), 23rd November (1), 12th December (2) & 29th December (1), then for this year one sometime between 31st December and 4th January and another two - the only moths caught - sometime between 4th and 8th January.  They seem quite happy to fly on really cold nights.  Many of them were marked before release and to date none has re-appeared which is encouraging.

Black-spotted Chestnut, Denham