A Review of Lepidoptera in Britain for 1973

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A REVIEW OF LEPIDOPTERA IN BRITAIN FOR 1973 BARON DE W O R M S

THE year under review was ushered in with yet another very mild spell and for the third year in succession virtually no hard weather persisted for the recognised winter over almost the whole of southern England. As in 1972 a very warm and sunny period prevailed during the second half of March with the sallows in füll bloom by the middle of that month. All the early species of moths were well out by their normal date of appearance and some of them even on the early side. Once more hibernated specimens of the Dotted Chestnut (Dasycampa rubiginea Schiff.) were numerous on the Bagshot Sand. April was a very mixed month in the south, with some very fine days during the first half which brought out the over-wintering butterflies including the Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros Linn.) of which several were seen together in a Surrey locality over the Easter holiday during the third week of April. It is heartening to know that this fine insect may be making a comeback after many years of almost Virtual absence and it is hoped that this butterfly will soon again be inhabiting the Eastern Counties and notably Suffolk, once its most prolific region. The Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni Linn.) was abundant in most areas during the early spring. May was a further most congenial month with high temperatures during the middle period. The Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Clossiana euphrosyne Linn.) was well on the wing by the middle week— together with the Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines Linn.). It was during the last week of this month that the first of a remarkable sequence of migrant species appeared. This was the capture on the southern outskirts of London of a Spurge Hawkmoth (Celerio euphorbiae Linn.), possibly the rarest of the Sphingidae in this country, though very widespread on the Continent. June was indeed a contrast to that of the previous year. The sun shone almost continuously throughout the month which was indeed to prove to be the prelude to one of the finest and wärmest summers of the Century with a veritable profusion of the lepidoptera in most parts of the British Isles. The shade temperature in June often exceeded 80°F. In the south-western region during the last week many butterflies were out well before their usual date such as the Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia Linn.) together with the High Brown Fritillary (Argynnis cydippe Linn.), while the local form of the Heath Fritillary (Mellicta athalia Rott.) was quite plentiful at that period in its special haunts in Devon. The glorious weather continued without a break tili the middle of July. During the last days of June a Bedstraw Hawk (Hyles galii Rott.) was taken on the north coast of Norfolk and it may well have been the offspring of a fair invasion of that fine moth in


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A Review of Lepidoptera in Britain for 1973 by Suffolk Naturalists' Society - Issuu