Thursday 6 October 2011

29th September - Brindled Ochre

A freshly emerged male was caught in a trap at Mugdock Country Park.

13th September - Dusky-lemon sallow

A lovely specimen was caught by David Bryant in his garden at Bridge of Allan which he tells me is full of its foodplant – Wych Elm.

10th September - Butterbur

Martin Culshaw had one come to house lights in Killearn. His house is not far from patches of the foodplant on the banks of the Endrick Water where I have run traps specifically aimed at the species but with no success. Time to look again.

10th June - Narrow-bordered Bee hawkmoth

An individual seen by Scott Shanks in a flower-rich meadow near Rosneath Point on the shores of the Firth of Clyde was the first record for the region since 1985.

Early September - Convolulus Hawkmoth

Norman Brodie had a very large visitor to his house in Dullatur that was identified after its death when his daughter, Barbara, circulated a photograph

2nd August - Silky Wainscot

A single specimen in the collection of Iain Christie, labelled 5th July 1985, Garlea, Dunbartonshire, was until this year the only record for the region. However, Bob Dawson recorded no less than four at Polmaise Lagoons, Stirlingshire on the 2nd August

26th and 31st July - Dark Spinach

Helen Dawson caught yet another in her garden in Fallin, Stirlingshire on 26th July and Martin Culshaw recorded one in Killearn on 31st.

15th June - Cinnabar


A significant proportion of records of Cinnabar in the region appear to be wanderers. An adult that arrived in my trap in Milngavie on 15th June was 14km from the nearest previous record and no larvae have been found on ragwort in the area. 

8th August 2007 and 13th August 2011 - Garden Dart

Garden Dart is a species that has become far less common throughout the UK. There were no known records from vice counties 86, 87 and 99 since 1996 until Stan Campbell re-examined some of his photographs. With the help of Roy Leverton, He discovered that a moth photographed in Renton, Dunbartonshire on 8th August, 2007 was a Garden Dart. This year there has been a record from the other end of the region.  Bob and Helen Dawson caught one in their garden in Fallin, Stirlingshire on 13th August.