A TRIBUTE AND NOTES ON SOME SUFFOLK
MOTHS
A . WATCHMAN
With s o m e sadness I write these notes, because it m e a n s that t h e man w h o usually did so and w h o i n t r o d u c e d m e to the s u b j e c t , is no longer with us. It was o n the evening of 17th S e p t e m b e r , 1969, that I first met ' C h i p ' C h i p p e r f i e l d , w h e n J a n e t and I a t t e n d e d the ' m o t h night' at N e w H o u s e , S y c a m o r e F a r m , Swilland, a r r a n g e d by the Ipswich and District N a t u r a l History Society. W e k n e w nothing about m o t h s or what constituted a ' m o t h night', b u t discovered t h e r e a M V l a m p hanging over a white sheet which was spread o n the g r o u n d a n d on which had been placed some egg boxes. Most Strange! A s m o t h s l a n d e d on the s h e e t , the stocky g e n t l e m a n gave t h e m n a m e s , which b e c a m e m o r e unlikely as the night wore on . . . Silver Y , S q u a r e - s p o t Rustic, Setaceous H e b r e w C h a r a c t e r . . . he must be m a k i n g them up! ' C h i p ' c a m e to the f a r m again t h e following y e a r , by which time a t t e m p t s had b e e n m a d e by o n e or t w o of us to identify m o t h s seen at the f a r m and at h o m e . Interest in t h e subject increased rapidly a f t e r that and within the next twelve m o n t h s a g r o u p of us were ' m o t h i n g ' at various places in S u f f o l k , using o u r newly p u r c h a s e d g e a r , namely a small g e n e r a t o r , driven by a car b a t t e r y , a M V l a m p , ' S o u t h ' V o l u m e s I and II a n d , of c o u r s e , the egg boxes!! H o w e v e r , as t h e m o t h s c a m e to the light in increasing n u m b e r s , we realised h o w difficult it is for beginners as we labouriously t h u m b e d t h r o u g h ' S o u t h ' . So ' C h i p ' was contacted and he kindly agreed to c o m e with us o n s o m e of o u r Visits. W e also a t t e n d e d s o m e of his meetings, including o n e on his ' o w n p a t c h ' , n a m e l y t h e Walberswick m a r s h e s , w h e r e that rarity, Archanara neurica H b . W h i t e - m a n t l e d Wainscot is to b e f o u n d . O n m a n y occasions ' C h i p ' has acted as host t o visiting lepidopterists anxious to acquire the insect, a n d to m e 'neurica' b e c a m e almost s y n o n o m o u s with Chipperfield. T h e n c a m e t h o s e e n j o y a b l e evenings at t h e 'Shieling' w h e r e we were invited t o see ' C h i p ' s ' collection of butterflies and moths. W e w e r e always m a d e very w e l c o m e a n d Fay ( ' M r s C h i p ' ) saw to it that we w e r e well 'wined and d i n e d ' . E v e r y insect in the collection s e e m e d to have its own story and ' C h i p ' n e v e r tired of relating w h e r e they w e r e t a k e n , u n d e r w h a t circumstances, w h o he was with, etc. etc. A l t h o u g h a s t i m e went by we t e n d e d to see less of ' C h i p ' he was always available w h e n any queries arose. Of c o u r s e he was not only k n o w n for his ' B u g hunting' as he liked to call it. H e was t r e a s u r e r of this Society for longer than s o m e of us can r e m e m b e r and w o r k e d f o r o t h e r organisations and his Community at Walberswick where he was a p o p u l ä r and well-known figure. T h e c r o w d e d church for his f u n e r a l was witness t o this. T h e r e a r e s o m e p e o p l e w h o it s e e m s will always be p r e s e n t and it is impossible to imagine t h e place without t h e m . ' C h i p ' was o n e of these p e o p l e . W e shall miss him greatly. C o m p a r e d to 1 9 8 3 , 1 9 8 4 s e e m e d almost a non-event as far as migrant m o t h s were c o n c e r n e d , a l t h o u g h Macroglossum stellatarum Linn. H u m m i n g - b i r d
Trans. Suffolk
Nat. Soc. 21