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Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 33 R E C O R D S O F B U T T E R F L I E S A N D M O T H S AT B R A N D O N BY Y O R K S H I R E N A T U R A L I S T J. W. D U N N I N G (1833-1897) H. MENDEL & R. E. CLARKE
Research for Butterflies ofthe Doncaster District (Rimington, 1992) brought to light a copiously annotated, interleaved copy of A Conspectus of the Butterflies and Mothsfound in Britain (Rennie,1832) in the library o f t h e Royal Entomological Society (catalogue reference L.40 L5:REN). The annotations were made by Joseph William Dunning and most of them relate to Adwick-le-Street (Doncaster), Storthes Hall (Huddersfield) and Brandon in Suffolk. Annotations relating to Yorkshire localities have been abstracted by Rimington and Beaumont (1996), on whose paper we have relied for biographical information. Dunning was in his early teens when the records were made, a pupil at Adwick Hall School in 1845, moving with the school to Storthes Hall in 1846. Both establishments were run by Peter Inchbald jnr. (1816-1896) an accomplished Yorkshire naturalist and it is likely that he had a hand in identifying the specimens that Dunning collected on his summer holidays at Brandon. Dunning maintained his interest in entomology and later in life was a distinguished Fellow of the Entomological Society of London. A legacy of his presidency (1883-1884) of that society was the granting of its Royal Charter in 1885. In spite of Dunning's age when the records were made they are entirely credible and give a valuable insight into the lepidopterous fauna of the Brandon area (likely to include parts of Norfolk as well as Suffolk) in the 1840s. There will always be some doubt where a species is difficult to identify, for example Grey Dagger Acronicta psi (L.), but on the whole the records are likely to be reliable. Many of the common moths that Dunning must have encountered are not mentioned, the majority of his annotations referring to more noteworthy insects. Some of the species recorded are of particular interest. It is known from other sources that Dark Green Fritillary Argynnis aglaja (L.), Silver-washed Fritillary A. paphia (L.) and Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria (L.) were once widespread in Suffolk. the latter species becoming so once again since its re-establishment in the 1960s. The reference to Silver-spotted Skipper Hesperia comma (L.) is of far greater interest. It used to be found on the Devil's Ditch and the adjacent Newmarket Heath that straddles the Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border (Mendel & Piotrowski, 1986), but has not been seen in Suffolk for over a Century. Amongst the moths, Orache Moth Trachea atriplcis (L.) and Spotted Sulphur Emmelia trabealis (Scopoli) deserve comment as both are believed to be extinct as breeding species in Britain (Heath & Emmet, 1983). The Orache Moth was essentially an East Anglian species, well known from the Wicken and Chippenham areas of Cambridgeshire in the 19th Century. It became extinct early in this Century. The Spotted Sulphur was always regarded as a Breckland species although found more widely in the 19th Century. The significance of this particular find has long been recognised; ' . . . a school-boy, spending his midsummer holidays at Brandon, in Suffolk, having taken it, this insect found its way into all our collections, and Mr. Dunning "awoke and found himself famous. " l mention this as a hint to other school-boys. Since Mr. Dunning ceased to visit Brandon, Sulphuralis has been no more taken.' (Stainton, 1857; p. 295).
Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 33 (1997)