UK. I. HNT. NAT. HIST.. 7: 1994 



8 March 1994 



The President, Dr P. Waring, showed a cocoon of the striped lychnis moth, 

 Cucullia lychnitis Ramb. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). He had collected larvae in 1991 

 and, although some adults had emerged in 1992, a greater number were produced 

 in 1993. Delayed emergence is well known in this species. The larvae prefer to feed 

 on the flower spikes of Verbascum nigrum L., which is a biennial or short-lived 

 perennial plant. The extended adult emergence may help the species survive years 

 when flowering plants are scarce. 



Miss L. Farrell circulated a copy of a newsletter on Shetland Lepidoptera 

 produced by a newly formed entomology group in the islands. 



Mr R. Softly showed two colour transparencies of larvae of the belted beauty 

 moth Lycia zonaria (Harrison) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) found feeding in an area 

 of machair grassland on Iona in mid-June 1990. 



The following persons have been elected as members: Paul R. Mabbot, John Arthur 

 Thompson, David Graham Hemingway, John Leslie Dyer, Robin Williams, Roger 

 Guy Gaunt, Roland Humpheryes, Edward Lawrence Bee and John Szczur. 



Mr A. J. Halstead and Dr Waring reminded members of the forthcoming 

 workshops to be held at Dinton Pastures. The clearwing meeting on 23 April would 

 be followed by light trapping in the evening. 



Miss Lynne Farrell spoke on "Wild flowers in the Highlands and Islands of 

 Scotland". The lecture took the form of a journey through some of the prime botanical 

 sites in Scotland, starting in Angus and going through Ben Lawers, Mull, the Treshnish 

 Isles, Skye, Orkney and Shetland. Many of the alpine plants shown have a very 

 restricted distribution and are at risk from overgrazing, plant collectors and, in some 

 cases, dry summers. Miss Farrell described some of the work she has done to assess 

 the population sizes and distribution of some of the rarer plants. Quadrats and 

 transects are used to assess plant density and photographic records are kept of the 

 size of colonies. Similar measurements in subsequent years indicate any changes in 

 the plants' status and provide an indication of the success or otherwise of the site's 

 management regime. 



The lecture was not without entomological interest. Slides were shown of the burnet 

 moths Zygaena loti (Rowland-Brown) and Z. purpuralis Tremewan on Mull, the scarce 

 chrysomelid beetle Chrysolina crassicornis (Hellie.) on Skye, the bumble bee Bombus 

 muscorum (L.), the hoverfly Sericomyia silentis (Harris) and local forms of the red 

 carpet and ghost swift moth on Shetland. 



In recent years the waters around Shetland have become busy with shipping due 

 to the oil industry and the increase in fish processing vessels. The poor condition 

 of some of the latter, coupled with the severe weather encountered in the area, result 

 in shipwrecks which can have a major impact on wildlife. The speaker showed slides 

 of several wrecks, including the oil tanker Braer. The oil spillage from the tanker 

 seems to have had little lasting effect on the higher plants on Shetland but mosses 

 and lichens have been killed by oil blown onto the land. 



12 April 1994 



The President, Dr P. Waring, showed some distribution maps for Great Britain 

 of moths based on post- 1980 records which update maps given in The butterflies and 

 moths of Great Britain and Ireland. The maps indicated the changing status of sonic 

 moths. The oak tree pug appears to be more widespread than before 1980 but this 

 probably reflects improved recording and it is no longer classified as notable. The 

 sloe pug, which was new to Britain in the 1970s, is now known to be widespread. The 



