Birds and Moths

 of Burnham-on-Sea

Moths

The moths recorded below are the results of the moth traps run in Burnham and Berrow. All records below are from the moth trap in Burnham-on-Sea unless otherwise stated. Dates refer to the night the trap was set. For regular updates and images from James Packer's trap in Berrow follow this link to the moth diary on his site, The Somerset Birder.

                   
                   Moths 2006   Moths 2007

2004 Records:

December:

• 15th December: The first December Moth for a 20 years was found on a wall in Berrow.
  
  

  
  
  December Moth, Berrow, 15th December 2004. 
  
  

November:

• 1st & 2nd November: The good weather continues. Recorded for the first time this year were; Feathered Thorn, Yellow-line Quaker and The Chestnut, and another Cypress Carpet.

October:

• 31st October: At last the weather has improved enough to allow our moth trap to be run. Highlight was a Cypress Carpet. Other species trapped included The Brick, Oak Nycteoline, November Moth, Red-line Quaker, The Satellite and Dark Chestnut.
  
  

  
  
  Cypress Carpet, 31st October 2004.

September:

• 10th-30th September: The weather has been so poor that virtually no trapping has taken place!
  
  

• 1st-9th September: There has been an increase at last in the number of immigrants caught. Good numbers of Silver Y moths, with a sprinkling of Dark Sword Grass, Udea ferrugalis and Pearly Underwing. The highlights were a Convolvulus Hawk and a Gem on the 7th. Other unusual species include The Engrailed and Red-green Carpet .
  
  

  
  
  Convolvulus Hawk, 7th September 2004.

August 2004:

• 6th-23rd August: The very poor weather continues, with heavy rain and strong throughout the period. The best moth was a Star-Wort on the 17th caught at Berrow. Other highlights or first records of the year include: Scorched Carpet, Archer's Dart, Red Underwing, Garden Dart, Straw Underwing and Flounced Rustic.
  
  

  
  
  Star-wort, Berrow, 17th August 2004.
  
   

• 5th August: The highlight today was a Mecyna asinalis, a scarce species that should occur on cliffs, which we completely lack here. Also a single Dark Sword-grass was the only other immigrant.
  
  

  
  
  Mecyna asinalis, 5th August 2004.
  
  

• 4th August: Additions to the year list included: Red Underwing, Straw Underwing and Saltern Ear. The Ears were checked recently and turned out to be Large Ears!
  
  

• 2nd August: A new moth at our Burnham garden was a Marbled Green. 
  
  

  
  
  Marbled Green, 2nd August 2004.
  
  

• 1st August: The warm, muggy weather continues to produce large numbers of moths. The highlight today being the second Cloaked Carpet of the year. Immigrants included 2 Nomophila noctuella, 1 Plutella xylostella and 4 Silver Y.

July 2004:

• 18th-31st July 2004: The weather has gradually improved and with some very warm nights over the period and  there have been some very large catches of moths. Some of the more interesting species for our area have included: Sharp-angled Carpet, Six-striped Rustic, White Satin, Catoptria pinella, Endrotricha flammealis, Pine Carpet, Iron Prominent, Dusky Sallow, Small Waved Umber, Bordered Pug, The Olive, Haworth's Pug and Small White Wave. There have also been several more Calamoptropha paludella at all four trapping sites. Agonoptrix curvipunctosa is still on the wing at Burnham. The only immigrants have been a handfull of Silver y's each night.
  
  

  
  
  Endrotricha flammealis, Berrow, 29th July 2004 and Small White Wave, 31st July 2004.
  
  
  
  
  Sharp-angled Carpet, 19th July 2004 and Pine Carpet 27th July 2004.
  
  

• 17th July: Not much in the way of excitement from our strip of coast for a while now. Caught at Westonzoyland, however was a Star-wort, possibly only the second county record.
  
  

  
  
  Star-wort, Westonzoyland, 17th July 2004
  
  

• 5th July: The best night of the year so far in terms unusual species. The areas first ever Cloaked Carpet and Clouded Buff were caught at Berrow and Burnham respectively. Also at Berrow was a Calamoptropha paludella which is a local species nationally, but recorded here most years.
  
  

  
  
  Cloaked Carpet, Berrow, 5th July 2004

June 2004:

• 21st-30th June: The appalling windy weather continues and therefore very little productive trapping attempted. The highlight being a European Corn Borer at Berrow.
  
  

  
  
  European Corn Borer, Berrow, 29th June 2004.
  
  

• 16th-20th June: Due to very windy conditions there has been nothing of interest to report.
  
  

• 8th-15th: The weather has generally been very warm, but the nights have been very windy and not good for mothing. Ruddy Carpet has been the only unexpected moth caught.
  
  

  
  
  Ruddy Carpet, 12th June 2003.
  
  

• 7th June: Today's highlight was a Striped Hawk Moth trapped at Berrow. The only other immigrants were a few Silver Y moths. New for the year were Scorched Wing, The Miller, Plain Golden Y, Dark Dagger and Grey Pine Carpet.
  
  

  
  
  Striped Hawk Moth, Berrow, 7th June 2004
  
  

• 1st-6th June: Numbers are increasing with each night. Immigrants include 1 Silver y and a Plutella xylostella. Otherwise species recorded for the first time this year include Green Silver-lines, Privet Hawk, Silver Ground Carpet, Straw Dot, Mottled Pug and Reddish Light Arches. A new moths for the area though were a Poplar Kitten and Luquetia lobella. And not in our normal coverage area was the discovery of at least 8 Currant clearwings on an allotment in Bridgewater.
  
  

  
  
  Poplar Kitten and Privet Hawk Moth, 6th June 2004
  
  
  
  Green Silver-lines, Berrow, June 2004 and Currant Clearwing, Bridgwater, June 2004.
  
  

May 2004:

• 24th-31st May: Highlights over the period include the first record for our garden of Oak Nycteoline. Sand Dart, Silky Wainscot, Sycamore, Shore Wainscot, Small Seraphim, The Seraphim, Common White Wave, Blastobasis decolorella, Orthotaenia undulana and Clay Triple Lines were some of the species new for the year. Immigrant moths were also recorded with a single Silver y and a Plutella xylostella on the 28th.
  
  

  
  
  Blastobasis decolorella and Orthotaenia undulana, May 2004.
  
  
  
  
  Oak Nyctleoline and Silky Wainscot, 27th May 2004
  
  

• 23rd May: The first Mother Shipton for many years was seen in the dunes at Berrow.
  
  

  
  
  Mother Shipton, at Berrow, 23rd May 2004.
  
  

• May 1st-17th: So far, May has been a very poor month for moths, with not many species being caught let alone the number of individuals. With the hot weather of the last few days things have started to pick up. The highlights though have not been of any great rarity value.
  
  

   
  
  Spruce Carpet and Cream-spot Tiger, May 2004

April 2004:

• April 25th: The first ever Nut-tree Tussock for our area was trapped at Berrow, but there was little else of note.
  
  

  
  
  Nut-tree Tussock, Berrow, 25th April 2004
  
  

• April 15th: New for the year today were Swallow Prominent, V Pug and Red Chestnut.
  
  

• April 12th: Puss Moth was the only moth of note.
  
  

  
  
  Puss Moth, 12th April 2004
  
  

• April 11th: A cold night meant that very few moths were trapped, a single Ash Pug was the only new for the year species.
  
  

March 2004:

• March 31st: The recent sunny weather has encouraged a few more moths to venture out, today's highlights being a single Dark Sword Grass and a Red Sword Grass (the first record for our strip of coastline).
  
  

  
  
  Red Sword Grass, 31st March 2004
  
  

• March 28th: The first Oak Beauty and March Moth of the year.
  
  

  
  
  Oak Beauty, 28th March 2004.
  
  

• March 16th & 17th: The first really mild nights of the year produced fifteen species of moth, including: Clouded Drab, Early Thorn, Early Grey, Dotted Border, Hebrew Character, Twin-spotted Quaker, Small Quaker, Diurna fagella, Agonopterix daucella, Agonopterix curvipunctosa and Agonopterix alstroemeriana. 
  
  

  
  
  Agonopterix curvipunctosa and Twin-spotted Quaker, 18th March 2004
  

February 2004:

• February 12th - 15th: Having read various reports of exceptional numbers of immigrant moths along the south coast, up to three moth traps have been running in Burnham and Berrow. The results however were poor, 1 Dark Sword Grass, 2  Nomophila noctuella, 1 Pale Brindled Beauty, 2 Angle Shades, 1 Common Quaker and a single Acleris hastiana

Dark Sword Grass and Pale Brindled Beauty at Burnham,15th  February 2004

Moths throughout the year

Three Mercury Vapour moth traps are run regularly between Burnham and Berrow catching a good range of coastal and sand dune species. These include Shore Wainscot, Webb's Wainscot, Obscure Wainscot, Brown-veined  Wainscot and Twin-spot Wainscot; Archer's Dart, White Lined Dart, Sand Dart and Crescent Dart. Other notable species include Satin Lutestring, Mocha, Red-necked Footman, Grass Eggar, Portland Moth, White Colon, Crescent Striped, Silky Wainscot and Oblique Striped.

Records of rarities include Agonoptrix curvipunctosa, which was rediscovered in 2000 and is regularly caught after 50 years believing it was extinct. The Goosefoot Pug, a new British record, was trapped in Berrow (Slade 1992). 



Goosefoot Pug (13th June 1992) 

Immigrant moths can arrive in varying numbers from year to year, one of the most common being Silver Y which can be present in their hundreds. These are often seen feeding at dusk on Soapwort and Evening Primrose. Less common, but regular are Dark Sword-grass and Nomophilla noctuella. Rare immigrants have included Great Brocade, Ni Moth (Gay 2002), The Gem, Delicate, Bordered Straw, Scarce Bordered Straw and Convolvulus Hawk Moth.