4th November – Blair’s Shoulder-knot

Blair’s Shoulder-knot first arrived in the UK (on the Isle of Wight) in 1951. It found that its preferred larval foodplants, Lawson’s and Leyland Cypress, are common garden trees in the UK and it spread rapidly. By 1996 it had reached Cumbria and by 2001 had crossed the border into Kirkcudbrightshire. Since then, it has spread to Ayrshire, the Borders, Lothians and into Fife as far north as Anstruther so it was not unexpected when one found its way into my trap in Milgavie on 4^th November. I hasten to add that I would not allow C. leylandii in my garden and, if Blair’s Shoulder-knot causes grievous harm to those in my neighbour’s garden, I shall be delighted. Unfortunately, said trees are growing much faster than even a plague of caterpillars could keep up with.