250 BR. J. ENT. NAT. HIST.. 13: 2001 



and little thorn Cepphis advenaria (Hub.), which has started coming to light in recent 

 years. 



A new record for VC34 was made when an unfamiliar tortrix taken as a voucher 

 specimen turned out to be Metendothenia (formerly Hedya) atropunctana (Zett.). 

 Bradley et al. do not list this moth for Gloucestershire but there appears to have been 

 a record from Stroud (VC33) in 1917 (Metcalfe, 1917. The Entomologist, 50, 274). 



A full species list was prepared and has been forwarded to Forest Enterprise, who 

 gave permission for the meeting to be held, and to BENHS for their archives. 



Loch Con (NN6967; alt. 1500 ft), Perthshire, 29-30 May 1999 



Leader: Keith Bland. — On 29 May even by Scottish standards, the weather was 

 somewhat inclement. Persistent light to heavy rain throughout the day until 15.00hr 

 proved sufficient to deter all but the leader. In the afternoon the showers became 

 lighter and more intermittent and gave way to a fine overcast evening spoilt only by a 

 stiff breeze. In addition, the high water level in the loch prevented access to the 

 islands where some of the most interesting vegetation occurs. Then, to cap 

 everything, as darkness fell and the MV-lamp was lit, the sky cleared and out popped 

 the most magnificently clear full-moon. Very quickly the temperature plummeted 

 and everywhere became white with a heavy frost. 



Of the early species only Argyrotaenia Ijungiana (Thun.) (= pulchellana Haw.) was 

 encountered, although a cocoon with exuvium of Phragmatobia fuliginosa (L.) 

 indicated that this species was also on the wing. Several Ematwga atomaria (L.) and 

 Neofaculta ericetella (Geyer) had already emerged. A single pupa of the latter was 

 also found which emerged a few days later. An exposed bank supporting Genista 

 anglica and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi amongst its vegetation yielded Ancylis myrtillana 

 (Treitschke) and several well-marked Ancylis unguicella (L.). Unfortunately no larvae 

 could be found on the Genista or the Arctostaphylos. However, the cowberry sported 

 many mines of Ectoedemia weaveri (Staint.) and many blistermines of Phyllonorycter 

 junoniella (Zell.). The bilberry patches were well stocked with larvae but 

 predominantly those of the geometrids Hydriomena furcata (Thun.) and Operophtera 

 brumata (L.) with only a few young larvae of a tortricid, probably Rhopobota 

 naevana (Hubn.). The large quantity of old cocoons that had weathered out of the 

 peat suggested that last year had been a bumper year for the northern eggar, 

 Lasiocampa quercus callunae Palmer, in this area. A lunch-time retreat into the 

 fisherman's bothy revealed only the corpses of a few Hofmannophila pseudospretella 

 (Stainton). Considering the weather and the altitude this list of a mere twelve species 

 of Lepidoptera is not unrespectable. The MV-light failed to raise even a kamikaze 

 gnat! 



The Diptera were even less in evidence than the Lepidoptera. Besides the 

 occasional specimens of the ubiquitous Scathophaga stercoraria (L.), the impressive 

 larvae of Pedicia rivosa (L.) were present in the wet flushes and the larvae of 

 Scaptomyza graminum were found mining the leaves of Stellaria uliginosa. 



The highlight of the day was however on the ornithological front when a first year 

 male red-breasted merganser (Mergus senator) spent some twenty minutes casually 

 feeding within 10 yards of the parked car. Several common gulls (Larus canus) were 

 on eggs around the loch and several common scoter {Melanitta nigra) were busy 

 feeding further out on the open water. 



