INSECT REPORT
The number of insect records received for the first half of the year has been a disappointment. Please send in all records from your gardens and local walks. I am not looking for rarities - although they would be nice too - rather to build up a reliable picture of the status of our common species.
The Holly Blue was plentiful last year, especially its late summer generation. It has been pleasing therefore to receive several records for the species this spring. So far I have received records from three sites and I hope that reading this will spur other members to submit sightings. I would also be especially grateful if any sightings of the Common Blue could be submitted as I am convinced that it is more widespread locally than our records at present indicate.
The Orange Tip has been recorded in the area for 20 years now, although I somehow still think of it as recent! To me the appearance of this species is a sign that winter is over in the same way that the arrival of Goldeneyes on the reservoirs indicate its onset. This year I was delighted that we had a male Orange Tip in our garden on the 1st of April - much the earliest date that I can find for the species. Normally it is late into April and occasionally into May before it emerges.
Certainly the most interesting record received so far relates to the Emperor Dragonfly. A single insect was seen at Cuerden on 24th June, and another was seen at a quarry in Whittle on the 25th and 27th. Odd records for this species have been received for the last three years now and so it can almost be considered a regular. It is a species, which is common in the South of the country and known to be increasing in numbers in the North. It is known to have bred at several coastal sites in Lancashire. Read the next newsletter to see if it can be proved to breed in our area!
Those present on the society field trip to Pincock on 23rd June saw specimens of Puss Moth caterpillars at rest on Poplar. At the time I was not 100% sure whether they were Puss moths or perhaps Poplar Kitten moths which are fairly similar in their earlier stages. I took them home and with the help of a friend reared them to maturity. They transferred readily onto Sallow leaves, which are much easier to find than Poplar, and they pupated successfully a couple of weeks later. They are spectacular caterpillars and their mode of pupation is also interesting. They spin a tough cocoon against the bark of a tree. The cocoon is formed from silk and chewed bark. The lovely white adult moths should emerge next May or June.