Cornwall Moth Group News
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Wanted Used Postage Stamps for charity
Used postage stamps are often discarded and thrown out with the rubbish instead of being recycled.
Many charities have a ' Used postage stamps for charity ' box, which can both help raise funds and reduce landfill.
Almost everyone receives mail with postage stamps on. So start collecting now. The amount of stamps is not of great importance as even small amounts can be of help.
Any stamps are suitable including UK, world, old, new, used, unused, postcards, first day covers, presentation packs, mini sheets, sheets of stamps, interesting envelopes, collections, on paper, off paper, philatelic ephemera including anything related to the postal service/post office etc.
Schools, offices/work places and clubs are all good places to put a collecting box or large envelope and just let people know what you are doing.
If you are a stamp collector, why not donate your duplicates and spares?
Funds raised in this way will be shared between the Cornwall Moth Group and the Cornwall Badger rescue Group.
Please send to:
Jayne Herbert
Tredinnick Stack
Newmill
Penzance
Cornwall TR20 8XT
New officials
On Saturday, 25th August 2007, the group met and agreed to elect an organising committee and we now have a Chairman, a Secretary and Treasurer. We would like to welcome the following officials:
Chairman: Tony James
Secretary: Phil Boggis
Treasurer: John Cooke
Cosmopterix pulchrimella (Chambers 1875) Update 2006 & 2007
Since Phil Sterling and Dave Pearman’s discovery of the occupied leaf mines of this moth on Pellitory-of-the-wall (Parietaria judaica) on the 1st January 2004 outside the hotel at Portloe, John Gregory has discovered a number of other places where this moth has be found, they are:
1) 11th January 2004 at SW9339 (Portloe) – mines
2) 8th February 2004 at SX1251 (Fowey) – a cocoon.
3) 26th December 2005 at SX0348 (approach to Halane beach, Black Head, St Austell) – empty mine and dead larva.
4) 1st January 2006 at SX0147 (Pentewan) – mine. Moth reared and emerged on the 25th January 2006.
5) 5th November 2006 at SW3922 (southern edge of Treen half a kilometre from the coast). Several occupied leaf mines on Parietaria judaica.
6) 26th November 2006 at SX0141 – Gorran Haven. One large patch of Parietaria judaica had thousands. Every leaf occupied with mines. Also found on nearby patches of Parietaria judaica.
7) 26th November 2006 at Gorran – SX0041. A small patch with occupied mines.
8) 26th November 2006 - occupied mines at (SW9941) – East Boswinger. A small number of mines found in a garden.
9) 2nd December 2006 – occupied mines at Portreath (SW6545 and SW6645). This is the first reported incidence of this moth on the north coast of Cornwall.
10) 3rd December 2006 – Polstreath near Mevagissey (SX0145) – occupied leaf mines.
11) 17th December 2006 – occupied leaf mines at SW9541, SW9641 and SW9741 in the Caerhays, Portholland area.
12) 1st January 2007 - Perranporth. Small plant with mine at SW7554
13) 2nd January 2007 - Port Mellon – several plants, some with mines at SX0143. Also Chapel Point (SX0243) – a few plants with some mines.
14) 4th January 2007 - St. Austell (SX0152) several plants but only one mine.
15) 14th January 2007 - Padstow area.. One small plant with mine at SW9175. Also at Benuick, Padstow. (SW9273) - one plant growing in ditch with a single mine.
16) 28th January 2007- Crumplehorn (SX2051) and Polperro East (SX2150) – leaf mines on Parietaria judaica.
17) 13th February 2007 Golant (SX1254) – leaf mines.
18) 15th February 2007 – Newquay (SW8161) – leaf mines on Parietaria judaica.
This tiny moth (wingspan 9mm) was first found at Walditch, Bridport, Dorset by Mark Parsons during the autumn of 2001. Since then it has been reported from the Channel Isles, and now Devon and Cornwall. There is a very good illustration of a set specimen in Unmberto Parenti’s book A Guide to the Microlepidoptera of Europe – Guide 1 2000, plate 81, fig. 2. Incidentally, the moth’s name is misprinted as C.pulcherimella instead of C.pulchrimella. Illustrated is a photograph of the adult taken the day it emerged on January 21st 2004 after being reared indoors by John Gregory.
It appears from these results that this moth will probably be endemic in Cornwall in a few short years. It has no natural predators and since its food-plant is essentially a weed,will not often ‘cross swords’ with man. These factors will, I am sure, invariably aid its spread on these islands in future years. My thanks to John Gregory for his records and valuable assistance in the preparation of this article.
Cosmopterix pulchrimella (Chambers)
ex larva from
mines on Parietaria judaica
Portloe
11th Jan 2004. Photo © P. Boggis
Cosmopterix pulchrimella (Chambers)
ex larva from mines
on Parietaria judaica Portloe
11th Jan 2004.
Photo © P. Boggis
Phil Boggis 21st February 2007
On-going Surveys for the Six-belted Clearwing
Those of you who have contributed towards furthering our knowledge
of the distribution of this moth in Cornwall are invited to continue
the good work this season. I welcome any records whether positive
or negative and perhaps some of you know of some potential sites
inland. Barry Henwood, a member of the Devon Moth Group, has reported
them from a number of inland sites across Devon, mainly on short
cropped road-side verges and embankments where Bird’s-foot
Trefoil and Kidney Vetch are found. Please sen your record to Phil
Boggis or
Tony James.
Survey of nocturnal parasitic wasps: request for assistance
by Dr Gavin Broad
Parasitic wasps are seriously neglected insects. Very few
people realise that this group of Hymenoptera represent a substantial
portion of Britain’s (and the world’s) insect fauna,
with ~6,000 species in this country. My interests lie mostly
in the family Ichneumonidae, which is the largest family. We
know very little about most species, including such basic information
as whether or not they are widespread and what insects they use
as hosts. To partly address some of this lack of knowledge,
I am trying to build a picture of the ecology of a convenient group
of parasitic wasps, those species of the families Ichneumonidae
and Braconidae that are nocturnal and come regularly to light. The
truly nocturnal species have converged on the same overall appearance,
mostly pale red/orange, with long antennae, so that species from
completely different families may look very similar. The
pictures below show two reasonably common nocturnal wasps, an ichneumonid
and a braconid.
By examining specimens of these species from across the country
I hope to build up a picture of the true distribution and habitat
requirements of these wasps, together with an idea of their host ranges from data that Mark
Shaw, in
Edinburgh, has been collecting. Most of the species that
come to light develop in Lepidoptera larvae, although one genus, Netelia,
develop as ectoparasitoids, attached to the outside of the caterpillar. There
are very interesting patterns of different host use, with some
species appearing to be complete specialists on one host (e.g. Enicospilus
tournieri on the Sand Dart, Agrotis ripae) and other
species attacking almost any suitably-sized caterpillar in the
right habitat.
Unfortunately, owing to the very similar colouration of most of
these species, it is essential to examine specimens to see the
minor morphological differences. Separation of some of the
species involved is tricky and at the moment we do not really know
what the most reliable characteristics are. Photographs will
almost always be of no use as they will not show the necessary
detail. If anybody is willing to send specimens of these
species that they find in their light traps I would be very grateful. The
one exception is with Ophion obscuratus, which has distinctive
yellow stripes (see photo). Photographs of specimens you
suspect to be O. obscuratus would be welcomed, accompanied
by the appropriate data. If you find such a specimen on a
sand dune, however, please do retain the specimen and send it to
me as it could be the very similar and very little-known
species, Ophion forticornis.
Specimens should be sent to me at the address below. My
preference is for specimens in alcohol but failing that dry in
tubes is fine, provided there is some tissue paper to stop them
rattling around and breaking antennae. I shall sort out a
supply of tubes if it looks like there will be a good response. Essential
data to be included with each specimen are: 1) date; 2) grid reference,
preferably 6 figure or more; 3) locality; 4) trapping method (e.g.
UV, MV bulb); and 5) recorder’s name. Any other data,
such as habitat information, will also be welcome.
Probably most specimens people will encounter will be ichneumonids
belonging to the subfamilies Ophioninae (particularly Ophion and Enicospilus),
Tryphoninae (Netelia) and Ctenopelmatinae (Absyrtus and Perilissus species). There
are relatively few species involved, perhaps about 60, but there
are still plenty of taxonomic problems to be solved. In
the last year I have found one Enicospilus and at least
three Netelia species new to Britain, one of them undescribed.
Your assistance would be much appreciated!
Dr Gavin Broad
Coordinator of Zoological data & research
The Natural History Museum
London
SW7 5BD
Ichneumonidae checklist available at:
www.brc.ac.uk/downloads/Ichneumonidae_checklist.pdf
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