Red-necked Footman comes to NE Suffolk.

Ashby Warren is an area on the private part of Somerleyton estate that contains a wonderful mixture of plant-life and habitat. I joined Keith on Thursday evening to set out our 8 traps and spread them out to cover as wide an area as possible. Keith set his out in the heathland/conifer area with my traps deeper in the mixed woodland and we used one of the vehicles to move between the 2 sets because of the distance.
The first trap to be inspected which was deepest in the woodland, provided the surprise of the night and this was in the form of Red-necked Footman. All the trapping Keith and myself have done before in this whole area of NE Suffolk/SE Norfolk has never turned up this species – but 7 came to this one trap, indicating that it is obviously well established here in this woodland that has never been surveyed before.
The woodland is quite unique locally because it contains a large amount of beech and this was reflected in other species trapped that we otherwise never see in our local area including Clay Triple-lines, Stophedra weirana and Cydia fagiglandana (5).
Moths from the Conifers were abundant including Dwarf Pug, Grey, Spruce and Pine Carpet, Tawny-barred Angle (many), Bordered White (many), Barred Red (many) Pine Hawk (several) ) and good micos such as Assara terebrella and Dioryctria simplicella.
Other highlights among the Macros were Common Lutestring (scarce in this area), Small Emerald, Birch Mocha, Lesser Cream Wave, Peacock Moth (23), Alder Kitten, Sycamore, Miller and Alder Moth. Micro’s included Lobesia reliquana and Scoparia basistringalis.
128 species was our best count for the year so far on a night of very heavy cloud, with the traps full of moths and dawn breaking before we had sorted them all out. A long but very rewarding session.

Brian

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