Following in the footsteps of Alice Blanche Balfour to record moths at Whittingehame
If you had some space to display a small selection of moths from your local area, which species would you choose? The most colourful? Your favourites? The commonest? Drawers of insect specimensA selection of East Lothian moths Following a brief visit last year which I documented in a previous blog, I recently had the pleasure …
I have only made three visits to Whittingehame in 2020. Two with light traps (January and October) and once for a daytime stroll in September. My optimistic plans to find species almost certainly there but which have so far evaded me, to share my moth traps with local residents and to make more effort with …
Moth trapping in October 2019 By the end of October in Scotland, moths are getting a bit thin on the ground. Nevertheless those that are around are beautiful and worth seeking out on milder nights. Which is what I did. How did my catch on the Estate at the end of October 2019 compare with …
British Moths The final selection of moths is a bit of a haphazard mixture, but despite being labelled as “British Moths” this drawer more accurately displays a “selection of East Lothian Moths” than the previous ones. There are rather too many specimens crammed into the available space making it feel a bit like a selection …
7: Bees and Wasps I don’t have sufficient knowledge to know if the species contained in this drawer are a fair representation of the East Lothian fauna about a hundred years ago. The label at the bottoms tells that all are to be found in Canty Bay yet I’m not aware of modern records of, …
Selection of East Lothian Moths 5 This is the drawer of micro-moths. There is only one error – one of the moths labelled Garden Pebble is Udea lutealis. To me it is looks quite obvious that the two moths are different and for the misidentified moth on the right it even says lutealis on the …
Selection of East Lothian Moths 4 This is the final drawer in the series devoted to a “selection of East Lothian moths”. A couple of species would be notable finds today and probably 50-100 years ago too. Grey Arches occurs further North and West in Scotland and although one or both of the Evans’ may …
Selection of East Lothian Moths 3 Most of the moths in the third drawer of so-called East Lothian moths are correct and nearly all species are still known from the area. There are only two identification errors. The moths labelled Cloaked Minor are the much commoner Middle-barred Minor. These species are quite similar and both …
Selection of East Lothian Moths 2 The moths of this drawer are a bit less varied than those of the previous drawer. One of the more striking, the Argent and Sable is the only species that is out of place in a line-up of East Lothian’s moths. In Scotland, this is a western species and …
Selection of East Lothian Moths 1 This is the first drawer of moths. Large hawk-moths are prominent and perhaps the most eye-catching is a Death’s-head Hawk-moth. The writing on one side of its label tells us it was collected from Ardpeaton, Loch Long in 1901, on the other side we learn that it weighed 1/3 …
East Lothian Butterflies The most interesting information in this drawer is the comments by each species describing their status in East Lothian at the time, and where they might be found. Species that are now common were rare or absent back then. Orange Tip, Peacock, Speckled Wood are all noted as ‘now extinct’ implying an …
Rediscovering the moths of Whittingehame 