Some of the places were trapped only once but many were surveyed regularly, some of them throughout the entire year. They are dealt with below in alphabetical order.
Ashridge Forest (SP9713) owned by the National Trust
Martin Albertini and I ran four traps for a "Creatures of the Night" event organised by the National Trust on 25th July. As often seems to happen at organised events, the weather failed to co-operate and it quickly turned into quite a chilly night so there wasn't a great deal to show the visitors.
 |
| Martin Albertini (seated, left) at Ashridge, 25th July |
The combined total from my two traps was just under 50 species, a very poor return for decent oak woodland in July. There was nothing at all significant in the catch.
Bernwood Forest (SP6210) owned by the Forestry Commission
Bernwood Forest, the largest area of ancient oak woodland in Bucks, was visited with the traps on 20 occasions spread throughout the year, with most of the surveying being carried out towards the eastern side (in Shabbington Wood). As would be expected, an excellent variety of moths was recorded but, with the current species list having reached 734 between 2009 and 2014, finding new ones is now quite difficult and only 15 were added in 2015. They included Beautiful Snout Hypena crassalis and Dotted Fan-foot Macrochilo cribrumalis on 10th July, both of which were rather unexpected in this habitat so may have been dispersing in the hot weather.
Bradenham (SU8297) owned by the National Trust
Six visits at monthly intervals between April and September, three of them accompanied by various combinations of Martin Albertini, Marc Botham or Peter Hall, resulted in a pleasing count of around 350 moth species on the southwest-facing slopes just below the woodland of Bradenham Beeches. This is chalk grassland, some of it quite old but the majority slowly reverting from other uses.
423
|
Argyresthia semitestacella
|
28th September
| |
857
|
Anarsia lineatella
|
2nd August
| |
861
|
Acompsia schmidtiellus
|
2nd August
| |
1374
|
Paratalanta hyalinalis
|
23rd June
| |
1489
|
Oxyptilus pilosellae
|
2nd August
| |
1736
|
Royal Mantle
|
2nd August
| |
2039
|
Red-necked Footman
|
23rd June
| |
2076
|
Kent Black Arches
|
2nd August
|
 |
| Anarsia lineatella, Bradenham 2nd August |
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| Oxyptilus pilosellae, Bradenham 2nd August |
Anarsia lineatella was a first for Bucks. The site's other claim to fame is as a home to the tiny plume Oxyptilus pilosellae which had been considered extinct in the UK until discovered here a couple of years ago. The moth was found again in 2015 for the third year in a row.
Brush Hill (SP8203) owned by the Chiltern Society
This was another public "Creatures of the Night" event, thankfully held in much warmer conditions than the one at Ashridge mentioned earlier. Organised by the Chiltern Society, it took place on 8th August at this lovely chalk down-land site on the hills above Princes Risborough. It was well-attended with a good number of youngsters joining their parents. Martin Harvey had invited me to help him run the mothing element and I took along two MV lights, my traps alone bringing in 119 different species. The various yellow underwings dominated the catches in all of our traps but there were also some noteworthy chalk specialists such as Agonopterix kaekeritziana, Bryotropha senectella, Acompsia cinerella and Rosy Minor Mesoligia literosa. However, prize for the best catch of the night went to the migrant male Four-spotted Footman Lithosia quadra which was found underneath the sheet of one of my traps as it was being packed up!
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| Four-spotted Footman, Brush Hill 8th August |
Burnham Beeches (SU9584) owned by the City of London Corporation
The final public "Creatures of the Night" event attended during 2015 was this one at Burnham Beeches where I joined Martin Albertini once again. Held on 19th September, it was unfortunately rather too late in the season to stand a chance of getting many moths! My three traps managed only 14 species between them in the chilly conditions and there was really very little of particular interest. Teleiopsis diffinis was recorded (seen here at the same time last year), as was Oak Lutestring Cymatophorima diluta.
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| Oak Lutestring, Burnham Beeches 19th September |
College Lake (SP9314) managed by the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust
This was a Bucks Invertebrate Group meeting, held at BBOWT's flagship reserve on 15th August. I elected to run two MV traps adjacent to the wetland area at the southern end of the site while everyone else took their lights to the chalk at the northern end. My traps weren't overwhelmed with moths but just over 60 species were caught and it was pleasing to see that the youthful reed-beds here had already attracted some of the hoped-for Wainscot species. Amongst the more interesting moths caught were:
1290
|
Chilo phragmitella
|
15th August
| |
1374
|
Paratalanta hyalinalis
|
15th August
| |
1441
|
Oncocera semirubella
|
15th August
| |
1804
|
15th August
| ||
2197
|
Southern Wainscot
|
15th August
| |
2370
|
Twin-spotted Wainscot
|
15th August
| |
2371
|
Brown-veined Wainscot
|
15th August
| |
2373
|
Webb's Wainscot
|
15th August
|
 |
| Paratalanta hyalinalis, College Lake 15th August |
 |
| Southern, Twin-spotted & Brown-veined Wainscots, 15th August |
Those who elected to trap on the chalk caught a different range of species of which the most interesting was a double-digit count of Annulet Charissa obscurata.
Finemere Wood (SP7221) owned by the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust
This is my 'local', an ancient oak woodland SSSI which I've been recording at regularly for the last nine years. 20 visits were made in 2015, most of them with just a single MV trap. The majority were also outside the main summer period which accounts for the resulting list of only 260 species. However, ten were new to Finemere, taking my own sightings there since 2007 up to 668 and the all-time site tally to 714 species.
153
|
Adela fibulella
|
10th June
| |
511
|
Coleophora orbitella
|
14th July
| |
879
|
Batrachedra pinicolella
|
14th July
| |
1657
|
Ochropacha duplaris
|
14th July
| |
1731
|
Scotopteryx bipunctaria
|
14th July
| |
2038
|
Muslin Footman
|
14th July
| |
2140
|
White-marked
|
6th April
| |
2373
|
Webb's Wainscot
|
15th September
|
Surprisingly, neither Chalk Carpet nor Webb's Wainscot were new to the Finemere list because I've recorded them each at the site once previously over the past three years. Both had probably made their way in from the massive landfill site at Calvert. The other three macro-moths listed were new for the site. Both Common Lutestring and White-marked will, I'm sure, be resident in the wood in low numbers but Muslin Footman was unexpected and was presumably a vagrant from elsewhere.
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| Chalk Carpet, Finemere Wood 14th July |
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| Webb's Wainscot, Finemere Wood 15th September |
Grangelands (SP8204) managed by the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust
This west-facing steep-sloped SSSI to the north-east of Princes Risborough is arguably the county's best chalk grass-land site. At the beginning of the year responsibility for management passed from Bucks County Council to the Wildlife Trust so this was a good opportunity to provide BBOWT with an up-to-date list of moth records. Lights were run on Grangelands and the adjacent Kimble Rifle Range monthly between April and September and from those six visits a total exceeding 400 species was amassed, reflecting the importance of the site for moths. On three of those visits I was accompanied by Peter Hall and/or Martin Albertini.
The site has a nice collection of ancient Junipers which, needless to say, produced Dichomeris marginella and Juniper Pug Eupithecia pusillata, while other moths typical of the chalk included such species as Coleophora lixella, Elachista biatomella, Sophronia semicostella, Acompsia schmidtiellus, Phtheochroa sodaliana, Ancylis unculana, Pyrausta nigrata, Paratalanta hyalinalis, Hypochalcia ahenella, Oncocera semirubella, Hedge Rustic Tholera cespitis & Small Purple-barred Phytometra viridaria, while more common species such as Small Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila porcellus and Reddish Light Arches Apamea sublustris appeared in very large numbers. The list of good moths is almost endless but the table below includes a selection of my personal favourites:
18
|
Hepialus fusconebulosa
|
17th June
| |
Parectopa ononidis
|
22nd August
| ||
732
|
Eulamprotes unicolorella
|
17th June
| |
908
|
Sorhagenia rhamniella
|
21st July
| |
909
|
Sorhagenia lophyrella
|
17th June
| |
960
|
Falseuncaria ruficiliana
|
11th May
| |
1116
|
Ancylis comptana
|
17th June
| |
1462a
|
Delplanqueia inscriptella
|
21st July
| |
1489
|
Oxyptilus pilosellae
|
21st July
| |
1517
|
Adaina microdactyla
|
22nd August
| |
1674
|
Little Emerald
|
17th June
| |
1731
|
Scotopteryx bipunctaria
|
Chalk Carpet
|
22nd August
|
1736
|
Catarhoe cuculata
|
Royal Mantle
|
21st July
|
1845
|
Eupithecia pimpinellata
|
Pimpinel Pug
|
21st July
|
2076
|
Meganola albula
|
Kent Black Arches
|
21st July
|
2084
|
Light Feathered Rustic
|
11th May
| |
2171
|
Hadena confusa
|
Marbled Coronet
|
17th June
|
2342
|
Mesoligia literosa
|
Rosy Minor
|
22nd August
|
Delplanqueia inscriptella was not recognised as a British species until 2015 and the individual shown below is the first documented sighting for Bucks. All previous records of Delplanqueia (Pempeliella) dilutella have been called into question as a result of this split.
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| Falseuncaria ruficiliana, Grangelands 11th May |
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| Delplanqueia inscriptella, Grangelands 21st July |
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| Light Feathered Rustic, Grangelands 11th May |
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| Marbled Coronet, Grangelands 17th June |
Homefield Wood (SU8186) owned by the Forestry Commission
It may seem odd saying that my visits here were a failure because the ten solo trapping sessions between April and November produced a very large list of moths (393 species in all), but the reason for choosing the site in the first place was its previous records of Blomer's Rivulet Discoloxia blomeri. This moth was once fairly widespread across the south-western portion of the county but it has been in decline for a while. Since the millennium there have been only 18 records and the last of those was at Turville Heath in 2010 by the late Tony Harman. The most recent record for Homefield Wood was in 2005 and I failed to find any evidence of it here during 2015. The species feeds on wych elm, of which there is plenty in the wood. Clouded Magpie Abraxas sylvata uses the same food-plant and I saw plenty of them (56 individuals between visits in July and August plus an unexpected second-brood example in October). I did manage to see Blomer's Rivulet during 2015 but that was in Herefordshire so doesn't count!
The site is a mixture of conifer plantation and broad-leaved woodland with a small area of chalk grassland (the latter managed by BBOWT). Amongst the other important species known from here are Striped Lychnis Shargacucullia lychnitis and Plumed Prominent Ptilophora plumigera. Larvae of the former were found on dark mullein growing along the main ride and within the chalk grassland area, while adults of the latter were trapped on the final visit in November which is when this unsociable moth takes to the wing. Other species of interest included:
121
|
Pseudopostega crepusculella
|
6th July
| |
394
|
Glyphipterix forsterella
|
16th June
| |
718
|
Ethmia dodecea
|
6th July
| |
728
|
Monochroa cytisella
|
20th July
| |
1229
|
Pammene albuginana
|
16th June
| |
1323
|
Pediasia contaminella
|
20th July
| |
1676
|
Cyclophora annularia
|
Mocha
|
13th May
|
1736
|
Catarhoe cuculata
|
Royal Mantle
|
6th July
|
1823
|
Eupithecia venosata
|
Netted Pug
|
16th June
|
1826
|
Eupithecia trisignaria
|
Triple-spotted Pug
|
20th July
|
2039
|
Atolmis rubricollis
|
Red-necked Footman
|
16th June
|
2076
|
Meganola albula
|
Kent Black Arches
|
6th July
|
2131
|
Xestia rhomboidea
|
Square-spotted Clay
|
17th August
|
 |
| Pseudopostega crepusculella, Homefield Wood 6th July |
 |
| Ethmia dodecea, Homefield Wood 6th July |
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| Pediasia contaminella, Homefield Wood 20th July |
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| Netted Pug, Homefield Wood 16th June |
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| Clouded Magpie, Homefield Wood 21st October |
Kingswood (SP6919) privately owned
A single MV trap was run in this ancient woodland SSSI on a monthly basis between March and October, repeating a survey carried out in 2008. Some 80 species were added to the site list, which now stands at around 340. Nothing particularly significant was caught but the exercise produced a good cross-section of moths which would be expected in most good quality woodland sites in this part of Bucks.
501
|
Coleophora siccifolia
|
29th June
| |
806
|
Gelechia nigra
|
20th August
| |
1147
|
Epinotia cruciana
|
16th July
| |
1152
|
Epinotia maculana
|
16th October
| |
1171
|
Gypsonoma minutana
|
16th July
| |
1655
|
Tethea or
|
Poplar Lutestring
|
20th August
|
1789
|
Rheumaptera undulata
|
Scallop Shell
|
29th June
|
2038
|
Muslin Footman
|
16th July
| |
2005
|
Great Prominent
|
23rd May
| |
2312
|
Olive
|
7th September
| |
2349
|
Mere Wainscot
|
16th July
|
 |
| Gelechia nigra, Kingswood 20th August |
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| Gypsonoma minutana, Kingswood 16th July |
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| Muslin Footman, Kingswood 16th July |
Four Bucks Invertebrate Group members ran light traps here for a field meeting on 11th July. My own Robinson was placed by some reeds on the eastern side of the site and managed to bring in a few assorted wetland moths amongst the 53 species caught:
926
|
Phalonidia manniana
|
11th July
| |
1328
|
Schoenobius gigantella
|
11th July
| |
2035
|
Round-winged Muslin
|
11th July
| |
2368
|
Celaena leucostigma
|
Crescent
|
11th July
|
2391
|
Silky Wainscot
|
11th July
| |
2418
|
Cream-bordered Green Pea
|
11th July
|
 |
| Crescent, Linford Lakes 11th July |
 |
| Cream-bordered Green Pea, Linford Lakes 11th July |
Mop End (SU9296) owned by the Field Studies Council
In July 2013 a highly successful Bucks Invertebrate Group visit to the mixed woodland and remnant heathland surrounding the FSC buildings at this site near Amersham produced more than 200 moth species. Unfortunately, thanks to the cool conditions, a repeat BIG performance on 2nd May 2015 brought few interesting moths - in fact very few of them at all! Only nine species were identified in or around my own trap on the old heath, of which Elachista rufocinerea was the only thing of interest. Best find of the night before we all decided to give up was actually coleopteran rather than lepidopteran (Typhaeus typhoeus, the Minotaur Beetle).
 |
| Elachista rufocinerea, Mop End 2nd May |
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| Minotaur Beetle, Mop End 2nd May |
Old Wavendon Heath (SP9334) owned by Bedford Estates
This area of remnant heathland on the border with Bedfordshire has quite a substantial amount of broom, the food-plant of a handful of interesting moths for which there are few records in Bucks. A daytime visit in May 2013 had produced a number of larval spinnings of Agonopterix assimilella, one of which was reared through to the adult for confirmation. Another look at the site in October 2014 found Streak Chesias legatella to be resident so a return visit was made on 22nd April 2015 to search for its nationally scarce relative the Broom-tip Chesias rufata. This proved very successful! The moth started flying at dusk and 14 were counted over the next hour. Further larval spinnings of Agonopterix assimilella were found on the visit as well as a dozen or more adults of Agonopterix scopariella.
 |
| Broom-tip, Old Wavendon Heath 22nd April 2015 |
Pitstone Hill (SP9514) owned by the National Trust
Five visits were made to this splendid area of chalk grassland, completing survey work which had started the previous year. Some 300 species were recorded in 2015 although not all that many were new to the site list. The first visit of the year again produced Northern Drab in its stronghold for the county, with four examples seen. The visit in May was timed to check out the population of Light Feathered Rustic Agrotis cinerea and 29 of that species came to the three traps deployed here on the 22nd. Chalk Carpet Scotopteryx bipunctaria appeared again on 9th August, as did Oncocera semirubella of which 140 were counted between my two traps, although the star visitor that night was a Lesser-spotted Pinion.
682
|
Depressaria chaerophylli
|
14th April
| |
1022a
|
Cnephasia pumicana
|
9th August
| |
2131
|
Square-spotted Clay
|
9th August
| |
2184
|
Northern Drab
|
14th April
| |
2316
|
Lesser-spotted Pinion
|
9th August
| |
2470
|
Small Purple-barred
|
22nd May
|
 |
| Depressaria chaerophylli, Pitstone Hill 14th April |
 |
| Square-spotted Clay, Pitstone Hill 9th August |
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| Northern Drab, Pitstone Hill 14th April |
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| Lesser-spotted Pinion, Pitstone Hill 9th August |
Round Wood (SP6531) owned by the Woodland Trust
This small area of woodland near Barton Hartshorn in the north-west of the county had been trapped regularly during 2014. Three further visits were made during May, June and July 2015 but they only picked up just over 30 more species, of which the most interesting were Schreckensteinia festaliella, Leopard Moth Zeuzera pyrina, Poplar Lutestring Tethea or, Dark Umber Philereme transversata and Pine Hawk-moth Hyloicus pinastri.
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| Schreckensteinia festaliella, Round Wood 18th July |
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| Poplar Lutestring, Round Wood 23rd May |
Rushbeds Wood (SP6615) owned by the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust
Rushbeds Wood was visited just the once for a Bucks Invertebrate Group meeting on 20th June 2015. Two of us ran a total of four MV traps and about 100 different species were recorded. There was nothing particularly noteworthy although Gold Swift Hepialus sylvina, Scallop Shell Rheumaptera undulata and a rather worn migrant Small Mottled Willow Spodoptera exigua were nice to see. This is a site which I intend to survey regularly in 2016 because it hasn't been looked at thoroughly for about nine years.
 |
| Small Mottled Willow, Rushbeds Wood 20th June |
Salcey Forest (SP8050) owned by the Forestry Commission
Following the quite thorough bout of surveying completed here the previous year, just the one visit was carried out in 2015, on 11th June to co-incide with the flight period of Concolorous Chortodes extrema. Once again the moth failed to put in an appearance! However, 87 species were caught between three MV traps, quite a good result considering how dire the weather had been for the first half of the year. Crassa tinctella and Beautiful Carpet Mesoleuca albicillata were good records, while Scoparia ambigualis (95), Common Swift Hepialus lupulinus (82), Clouded Border Lomaspilis marginata (33), Orange Footman Eilema sororcula (31) & Ingrailed Clay Diarsia mendica (36) appeared in good numbers. Three examples of the butterfly Wood White Leptidea sinapis were found roosting next to one of the traps, which saved me the effort of a day-time trek back to north Bucks to look for the species.
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| Crassa tinctella, Salcey Forest 11th June |
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| Wood White, Salcey Forest 11th June |
Stoke Common (SU9885) owned by the City of London Corporation
This is one of my favourite moth sites in Bucks. It is the largest area of heathland in the county and nearly always seems to produce something of interest. Four more trapping sessions were carried out with Martin Albertini and Andy King, one each in June, July, August and September, and amongst the species recorded were:
541
|
Coleophora pyrrhulipennella
|
4th June
| |
1268
|
Cydia coniferana
|
1st July
| |
1375
|
Ostrinia nubilalis
|
1st July
| |
1442
|
Pempelia palumbella
|
1st July
| |
1494
|
Capperia britanniodactyla
|
1st July
| |
1970
|
Perconia strigillaria
|
Grass Wave
|
4th June
|
2034
|
Lymantria dispar
|
Gypsy Moth
|
12th August
|
2130
|
Xestia baja
|
Dotted Clay
|
12th August
|
2135
|
Xestia agathina
|
Heath Rustic
|
8th September
|
2149
|
Polia trimaculosa
|
Silvery Arches
|
1st July
|
2177
|
Tholera cespitis
|
Hedge Rustic
|
8th September
|
 |
| Pseudatemelia subochreella, Stoke Common 4th June |
 |
| Scythris grandipennis, Stoke Common 1st July |
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| Grass Wave, Stoke Common 4th June |
 |
| Heath Rustic, Stoke Common 8th September |
 |
| Silvery Arches, Stoke Common 1st July |
Heath Rustic came as a very pleasant surprise. The site has been trapped often enough at the right time of year to suggest that this smart moth must be a very recent colonist. Silvery Arches, on the other hand, has been known from Stoke Common for many years although it is not often recorded. As can be seen from the image, the example caught on 1st July was not exactly in the best of condition and was dissected to be absolutely sure of its identity.
The usual site specialists such as Neofaculta ericetella, Aristotelia ericinella, Anarsia spartiella, Ancylis uncella, Pempelia genistella, Birch Mocha Cyclophora albipunctata, Narrow-winged Pug Eupithecia nanata, Neglected Rustic Xestia castanea, True Lover's Knot Lycophotia porphyria, Suspected Parastichtis suspecta and Beautiful Yellow Underwing Anarta myrtilli also turned up in the traps, many of them in some numbers. It was also nice to see things like Cydalima perspectalis, Red-necked Footman Atolmis rubricollis, Scarlet Tiger Callimorpha dominula and Tree-lichen Beauty Cryphia algae.
The usual site specialists such as Neofaculta ericetella, Aristotelia ericinella, Anarsia spartiella, Ancylis uncella, Pempelia genistella, Birch Mocha Cyclophora albipunctata, Narrow-winged Pug Eupithecia nanata, Neglected Rustic Xestia castanea, True Lover's Knot Lycophotia porphyria, Suspected Parastichtis suspecta and Beautiful Yellow Underwing Anarta myrtilli also turned up in the traps, many of them in some numbers. It was also nice to see things like Cydalima perspectalis, Red-necked Footman Atolmis rubricollis, Scarlet Tiger Callimorpha dominula and Tree-lichen Beauty Cryphia algae.
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