In central Scotland the day-flying Marsh Pug is an enigmatic species. Its preferred foodplant, Field Mouse-ear is rare or absent from vice counties 86,87 and 99. Nevertheless, there are records from the region and these are mainly centred around the damp meadows south of Loch Lomond particularly those near the mouth of the Endrick Water. There have been no records since1983 until on the third of June, on a very muggy night, Martin Culshaw caught one coming to light at his house which is near the junction of Blane Water and Endrick Water (the species only comes to light on very muggy nights).
Furthermore, on the 14th August he found another on his garden fence proving that the species can be double-brooded in the area. I have searched the fields around Martin’s house. Common Mouse-ear (Cerastium fontanum) is abundant and a couple of plants of Sticky Mouse-ear (Cerastium glomeratum) were found but there was no Field Mouse-ear. These were the first records for vice county 86 although, as indicated above, most of the records from vc99 are also from the environs of the Endrick Water.
On 1st September, Neil Gregory caught one in a totally new area of vc99, namely Carman Muir.
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