Extinct endemic subspecies of British Moths.

[nomad]

I thought this would be a good place to showcase rarely seen specimens of a few of the extinct British subspecies of moths that were endemic to the British Isles. I have included some brief information about them to add interest. Please fill feel free to add your specimens or your knowledge of any extinct endemic species of moths occurring in your country. A good species to start with is the New Forest Burnet moth, Zygaena viciae ytenensis Briggs 1888.

I have always liked the Burnet moths of the Zygaenidae family. They always remind me of lovely summer days and if you like your specimens to have bright colours you probably will like these interesting day-flying moths. In Britian we have a good variety of Burnet moths and most are endemic subspecies. Sadly two British endemic subspecies of our Burnet moths have become extinct. One of these was the little Zygaena viciae ytenensis , which was only to be found in the New Forest in Hampshire in the south of England. Specimens of this extinct subspecies are rare in collections and would command a high price today.

The New Forest Burnet [Zygaena viciae ytenensis ] was discovered in Britain in 1869, but was confused with another species at first. The endemic subspecies ytenensis was known from nine small colonies in large woodland clearings. One by one the colonies died out and by 1927 the Burnet moth was extinct in its forest home. W. Gerald Tremewan the Burnet moth expert who studied the history of this species in great detail, wrote in a 1966 paper that he identified two factors why ytenensis became extinct in the New Forest. He relates that the main factor was pressure from collectors, who in some cases he says removed all of the adults of the entire emergence in some of the colonies. Tremewan also mentions that habitat change was also responsible, but the main cause was human predation. You may and I have my own views on why the New Forest Burnet moth became extinct, I am simply relating those findings and conclusions of Gerald Tremewan. I would suggest that habitat change would have been the most likely cause for this moths disappearance.

Quite unexpectedly in 1963 Zygaena viciae turned up at a site on steep grassy cliffs on the Argyllshire coast of western Scotland. This was an amazing and remarkable find, however this was not the extinct subspecies ytenensis This new Zygaena viciae population was described by Tremewan as a new subspecies 'argyllensis'. There was only a small population and although the sea cliffs of Argyllshire have been searched this remains the only known colony. It also seemed that subspecies argyllensis was also heading for extinction.  In 1990 because of intensive grazing less than twenty moths of Z. viciae argyllensis were observed on a single ledge. The conservationists acted just in time, they fenced off the cliffs and removed the grazing stock. Z. viciae argyllensis quite quickly recovered and by 2005 there were several thousand moths present. Since then the population has declined again, but remains reasonably healthy. There have been attemps to introduce it to a few other sites. Why subspecies argyllensis should be confined to one cliff is a complete mystery because there are miles of similar cliffs along the coastline of Argyllshire. The exact site of the main colony of argyllensis is one of the best kept secrets in British Entomology! To lose one subspecies of Z. viciae was bad enough but to lose another endemic subspecies and this rare moth altogether would have been a disaster. If ever a subspecies was on the very brink of extinction, it was Zygaena viciae argyllensis.









Specimens of the extinct New Forest Burnet, Zygaena viciae ytenensis

[nomad]

I would just like to mentioned that there is not a single verified instance that a species or subspecies has become extinct by over collecting  in Britain and that habitat change, often by mismanagement is to blame. If one reads my article in Moths and Memories, you can see that changes in woodland habitat management was the cause of many local extinctions in the forest where I collected. I feel that the New Forest Burnet Moth although it was quite common in several areas, was vulnerable to changes in woodland practices because it occurred in small colonies. Changes in woodland practices will quickly lead to overgrown clearings and rides. During the first World War much of the mature Oak timber of the New Forest was cut and much Beech plantation replaced it, which shades out all light. Although many Oakwoods in the New Forest remain, most consist today of younger trees. In all the other extinct endemic subspecies of Britain that I have studied, habitat loss by changes in grazing by livestock and other changes in their environment has led to all the extinctions. Extinction whether we like it or not may be part of evolution itself. For all losses their are many gains of new species to our moth fauna. It is good to remember Britain has around 2550 species of moths. One member once said that Britain was a ecological desert, however it would take a lifetime of happy collecting to acquire all of its moth species, those than are not protected of course. Those specimens shown such as those of Zygaena viciae ytenensis in this thread are a very valuable resource for study.  Peter.

[nomad]

I have only seen a overall summary of the 1966 paper by W.G. Tremewan. Can anybody please send me a copy of the following articles.

The history of Zygaena viciae anglica Reiss [Lep. Zygaenidae] in the New Forest. 1966 Entomologist' Gazette 17, 187-211.


Collecting Zygaena[ Fabricus, Lep, Zygaenidae in Scotland. 1965 Entomologist's Gazette 16, 119-124.

Many thanks. Please PM if you can help. Peter.

[Deleted]

As far as I am aware, all of these moths are either extinct or super rare in the British isles.

[nomad]

Hi Dunc, nice group of rarities, I love the White Prominent [ Leucodonta bicoloria] from Eire, where it has recently turned up again . Are you sure that is a specimen of the extinct Viper Bugloss [ Hadena irregularis]. It looks like a light coloured specimen of the Dusky Sallow [ Eremobia ochroleuca]. Here is a couple of extinct British Vipers from Clive's collection caught in the Brecks, its only know locality.

[Deleted]

I must have posted the wrong picture Peter, I bought one from Tony Harman a couple of years ago, I will try and find the picture, my white prominents are Irish, I got them from Newark fair a few years ago, really pleased to get the black veined moths too.

[nomad]

Yes, I do like your Black-veined Moths [ Siona lineata ], quite unlike anything else we have and yours are lovely specimens. British ones are unobtainable now because this unusual moth is protected in its remaining Downland sites in Kent.

[nomad]

The discovery of Zygaena viciae ytenensis the New Forest Burnet Moth in Britain.

For those that are interested in the extinct British endemic Zygaena viciae ytenensis , I have further information that I would like to share on its early history. As you would have guessed, I do find the history and biology of these extinct moths really fascinating.

It seems, according to most books, the New Forest Burnet was discovered in the New Forest in Stubby Copse during 1869. The first references that I have yet been able to trace of the discovery of this little burnet moth is from the 1871-1872 volume of the' Entomologist', that esteemed journal of the Entomological society of London. It seems that three London lepidopterists on separate occasions in June and early July of 1871 almost simultaneously collected this species in New Forest of Hampshire. All three men recognized that this small burnet moth was different, but at first thought they captured dwarf forms of the Five-spot Burnet moth [ Zygaena trifolii ]. On 29th June, in 1871, a Mr Boden visited Stubby Copse to look for specimens of another rarity the Reddish Buff [ Acosmetia caliginosa]  of the Noctuidae family, a species that takes flight when disturbed from vegetation during the day. During his search he noticed some small burnet moths which he collected, but took for diminutive specimens of Z. trifolii. It seems highly likely that Stubby Copse was a favourite haunt of visiting collectors looking for rare species to add to their collections. The New Forest Burnet had remained undetected because it flew with and it closely resembles  Z. trifolii. Another interesting point is that the main headquarters of the Reddish Buff was in the New Forest. A. caliginosa also disappeared from the New Forest where it was confined to the same type of habitat frequented by Z.viciae. The larvae of A. caliginosa feed solely on Saw-Wort Serratula tinctoria, a plant that needs very open situations and for this moth to have also disappeared in the early twenty century, it seems to be a good indication that there were changes to the habitat which did not suit either species.  The foodplants of the New Forest Burnet moth were the common Lotus comiculatus and Lathytus pratensis from the Leguminosae family, that will only thrive in open sunny places and not in shady woodland. Tremewan mention of heavy collecting pressure, was unlikely to have come from individual collectors, but possibly he had accounts of a few unscrupulous dealers. Another British endemic Burnet moth Z. exulans subochracea was discovered during the same period during 1871 on a Mountain near Braemar in Scotland and this was the only known locality for many years. For well over a hundred years collectors made their pilgrimage to Braemar to collect the Scotch Burnet moth, which was very local on the mountain where it was to be found flying in an open moorland habitat and it never occurred in large numbers. In spite of all this attention by collectors, Z. exulans continues to fly on its ' lonely mountain '  simply because there has been no changes to its habitat.

In July of 1871, W.H. Tugwell was looking over the moths in a  Mr J. Gulliver collection at Brokenhurst in the New Forest, when he noticed some small burnet moths, that had been taken two weeks previously in late June. Visiting the locality himself Tugwell took a couple of specimens of Z. viciae, but mentions the moths were now worn and mostly going over,  at first he also took them for small Z. trifolii. Earlier in the month, E. Harper went on a collecting trip to the New Forest where he took nine perfect specimens of Z. viciae that again he first thought be be a variety of Z. trifolii, but on examining them in his rooms, he decided they might be something new and decided to take them to one of the leading Entomologists of the day, Henry Doubleday of Epping. Doubleday at once declared them to be the European Zygaena melilothi [ Esper 1789 ], a species that he had suggested might be found one day in Britain. Although the new moth was known as melilothi for many years, this name was found to be a junior synonym of Z. viciae,  [Denis & Schiffermuller 1872].

C .A. Briggs who eventually named the British Z. viciae subspecies ytenensis seems to have a long fascination for this species. As early as 1872 he was attempting to breed the New Forest Burnet in captivity from those pairs he had obtained in copulation and had 300 small larvae, but only 30 survived the winter in his greenhouse. Out of these he had nine pupa, but only had six perfect adults emerged. He proudly exhibited the first ever bred British pairs at the exhibition of the Entomological Society in 1875. However he still at this stage had doubts about the identity of the new burnet and remarked that he had compared his specimens with those of Z. melilothi [ viciae] in the collection of the British Museum and noticed that there were quite a few differences. He still wondered if they were not a dwarf form of Z. trifolii after all.

Sixteen years later in 1888 we find Mr Briggs in the New Forest with one of the finest field collectors of his day, E.G. Meek, the father of the great Rothschild collector A.S. Meek. Z. viciae had already become extinct in its original locality Stubby Copse, but Meek had found a new locality nearby. Briggs stated that those specimens from the new locality differed in several ways from those of the old one. Again Z. viciae was found flying with Z. trifolii and with  intermediate forms?  Later that year Briggs named the New Forest moth ssp ytenensis. Little did he realize that 39 years later his new moth would be lost.



A pair of the Zygaena viciae ytenensis.



A pair of the rare Acosmetia caliginosa from the New Forest. In Britain this species is now confined to a single coastal site on the Isle of Wight in Hampshire.

[nomad]

Some moth enthusiasts will know the British rarities shown by dunc, they are from the top row second right, the Union Rustic [ Eremobina pabulatricula] Extinct woodland resident last seen 1935.
Black veined-moth [ Siona lineata] Very Rare now protected. Downland in Kent.
Clifden Nonparei or Blue Underwing [ Catocala fraxini] Transitory immigrant. Once established in Kent and Norfolk. Recently more are turning up again along the south coast. A few attracted to light this year in Dorset and the New Forest, Hampshire. A Wonderful species.
Crimson Speckled [ Utetheisa pulchella] Very rare immigrant.
Bottom Row right
Lunar Double Stripe [ Minucia lunaris] Formerly a temporary resident in Kent and East Sussex, now extinct and a rare immigrant.
White Prominent [ Leucodonta biocoloria] Extinct in England found again recently in Eire.

The White Prominent is of special note, long extinct in England, it was last seen in county Kerry in Southern Eire around 1938 and rediscovered there again in Birchwoods during 2007. Good numbers of adults have now been observed` at light.
For a full history of Leucodonta biocoloria in the Britain and Eire, see this article in The Entomologists Record and Journal of Variation at this link

archive.org/stream/entomologistsrec961984tutt#page/n19/mode/2up

For the current distribution of L. biocoloria in Kerry Eire see this Link

www.mothsireland.com/species/2012.htm

For a superb recent image of L. biocoloria from Eire showing the wonderful appearance of this moth when it is fresh see this link.

www.hantsmoths.org.uk/species/2012.php





Two specimens of British L. biocoloria. I puzzled over the data of the top discolored specimen that had the data 'Head' Scarborough 1901. In England this species was only known from Burnt Wood in Staffordshire in the Midlands and few specimens were known from Exeter in Devon. This data in fact refers to H.W. Head a dealer who operated from Scarborough in Yorkshire. The Bottom specimen has the data Kerry, Eire.





A nice series of British specimens of Catocala fraxini. Most have the data, Ham Street Woods, Kent where it was once established





Another specimen of Minucia lunaris. Data locality, Ham Street Woods.

[nomad]

This a very interesting comment by Roy Leverton on the of British extinction of Moths.

" I believe it is arrogant as well as wrong of humans to assume that they themselves are responsible for each and every loss of a species- or could somehow have prevented this happening. The climate of eastern and south-eastern England is closest to that of the Continent: dry with sunny summers and relatively cold winters. Many moths more at home in mainland Europe, have been able to gain a precarious foothold here, often in very restricted areas that offer a particularly suitable habitat. For instance, several moths have been able to establish a breeding population only on the shingle at Dungeness, like the Kentish Plover [wading bird] once did. Sooner of later, it is inevitable that even minor adverse changes such as a run of cool summers, a build- up of parasitoids, or vegetation succession, will tip the balance, causing them to die out"

Although this may be the cause of the loss of a number of British species, that may have been only transitory immigrants, this may not not account for a number of extinct species, that have had a long recorded history in these islands.

[Deleted]

At some point this year I have mint but old specimens of Minucia lunaris, Catocala fraxini,Catocala sponsa and Catocala promissa from a cfriend,the condition of the specimens is remarkable to say how old they are, the L. biocoloria are from the Newark insect fair, really surprised nobody else bought any.

[nomad]

Hi, Darwin, I mean dunc, please can you tell me what was the data on your Leucodonta bicoloria. P.S. Are there many species of British moths that you want for your collection.

[Deleted]

It could take a while for that data Peter but I will try in the next day or so as that particular case is difficult to get to, yes there are a shedload of moths I need but I am working my way through them slowly with the help of Tony Harman but it will take a while yet.

One thing I would add is that I have observed quite a few British specimens of Minucia lunaris and there is so much variability between them not only in markings, shades of colours but in size too, a beautiful moth.

[nomad]

The Essex Emerald, Thetidia smaragdaria [ Fabricius 1787] is found in most European counties. In the U.K this emerald moth was represented by the extinct subspecies maritima [ Prout 1935], that was only to be found on the open salt-marshes of the Essex and Kent coasts. Because of the disappearance of the salt-marshes where this species was found, it was finally restricted to a single site, where it was last seen in 1991. At the last known site there was an absence of any change in its severely limited habitat, but this restriction to just one small area was thought to have weakened the breeding strain. It was realized that this endemic subspecies was going to be lost, so in 1987 one well know lepidopterist Paul Waring kept a captive breeding stock in his garden at Peterborough in the Midlands, but unfortunately the strain died out in 1996, perhaps weakened by inbreeding. The larvae fed solely on Sea Wormwood [ Artemisia maritima].

See this article on Paul Warings vallant attempt to save the British Essex Emerald and also the Reddish Buff [ Acosmetia caliginosa]. A moth that has also been mentioned in this thread.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/disappearing-britain-rare-moths-bloom-in-back-garden-a-biologist-is-fighting-to-save-endangered-species-by-releasing-caterpillars-oliver-gillie-reports-1542195.html.

I do believe, that this is taking the loss of the British subspecies T. smaragdaria maritima a bit too far, see this link








Ab abinea [ Burrows ] White cross lines absent.


Specimen with the colour faded. This often happens with the Emerald Moths of the Geometrinae family.

British Specimens of the Essex Emerald Thetidia smaragdaria maritima

[nomad]

I would be interested to know, what the other moth collectors use, to keep their Emerald species Green.