INSECT REPORT
British weather has been at its worst in the last month or two. Enough to tempt you to migrate south to sunnier climes. The reverse, it seems, has been the case with our insects. The notable records for the last quarter relate to the migratory species.
Our most regular migratory
butterfly is the Painted Lady. This year has been a good one for
the species with sightings at many places during August and
September. In fact, I have received significantly more records
for it than for the resident Small Tortoiseshell. This summer
must be the worst on record for the latter species.
A rather less common migrant is the Clouded Yellow. This is the
best year for some time for this species with records from
several sites during September. The last good Clouded Yellow year
was 1992, although two were seen during 1998. It is a common
species in the Mediterranean area and migrants from there
regularly reach the South of England in May and June. It is
thought to be the offspring of these spring migrants, which later
expand further northwards to be reported here. There is evidence
of a Southwards migration in autumn, but how many eventually
reach their ancestral homes is not clear.
Other butterfly highlights were a single Brimstone in Eccleston on 13th August, and the continued success of the Speckled Wood, which has been reported from many different parts of the area. In the last newsletter I wrote of the decline of the Large Skipper. I am pleased to report the receipt of 5 records for the species during July. It is to be hoped that it can cling on in the area.
Back to migrants. The commonest moth migrant is undoubtedly the Silver Y. It is reported in reasonable numbers most years, and this year has probably been better than most. The real star, however, has been the Hummingbird Hawk Moth. This is another species common in the Mediterranean, which again is frequent further south in the country, but not often reaches us in Lancashire. I received 3 records for it this July - two from Hoghton and one from Chorley. It feeds on nectar by hovering in front of the flower and stretching out its long proboscis to feed, in much the same way that a Humming Bird does.
Cuerden Valley Park was again host to Emperor Dragonflies. These were seen often in July and observed laying eggs, which bodes well for their future locally. The Emerald Damselfly was recorded breeding at Cuerden last year. It was again recorded there on several occasions and also seen at Healey Nab during August. The Four Spotted Chaser was recorded from Birkacre for the first time on 16th July.
Finally, I thank the members who sent records for Common Green Grasshoppers at Brinscall during September and Common Field Grasshoppers at Cuerden. These are very common locally but not often recorded. If any members are interested in trying to identify these delightful insects, I can recommend a book to them or loan a small field guide with an excellent identification key.
It would be nice to receive more records for Grasshoppers and Crickets even though we probably have only a very few different species in the area.