184 BR. J. ENT. NAT. HIST., 6: 1993 



Tyria jacobaeae (L.). A small amount of beating was done and as a result several 

 larvae of the poplar lutestring Tethea or (Denn. & Schiff.) from aspen Populus 

 tremula L. and the larvae of the green silver-lines Pseudoips fagana (F.), vapourer 

 moth Orgyia antiqua (L.) and engrailed Ectropis bistortata (Goeze) from silver birch 

 Betula pendula Roth were seen. Just over 30 species of micro-moth were noted from 

 leaf-mines and by other means, all of rather common species. Among insects of other 

 orders were the eyed ladybird Anatis ocellata (L.), several of which were seen at rest 

 on plants including marsh thistle Cirsium palustre (L.) Scop., and the cerambycid 

 beetle Strangalia macula ta (Poda) on flower-heads of angelica Angelica sylvestris L. 



The cloud that had been with us for most of the afternoon cleared by dusk of course! 

 As a result the temperature fell. It was barely 13°C at 10.00 p.m., 11°C at midnight 

 and those of us that stayed in the wood all night, sleeping in cars, enjoyed a chilly 

 6°C. The low temperatures resulted in very small catches in the traps and the full 

 moon by 1 1 .00 p.m. did not help. What was doubly frustrating was that the following 

 night was altogether warmer and cloudier and I had a larger catch in my garden trap 

 than I did in the wood! 



What was noticeable among so many lights in the wood was that those in the shelter 

 and to at least some extent shaded by trees, such as those in the narrow main ride 

 from the Hell Coppice gate, caught more moths than those out in the open on the 

 widest ride intersections. This type of result is well-documented in Waring (1990a). 

 Conversely on cloudy warm still nights in mid-summer, lights at ride intersects are 

 likely to catch more species and often more individuals, particularly in the case of 

 125-W lights rather than actinics. 



In spite of the small catches per trap, over 70 species of macro-moth were recorded, 

 thanks to the large number of traps used. Furthermore two major discoveries were 

 made, adding the hornet clearwing Sesia apiformis (Clerk) and pine hawk-moth 

 Hyloicus pinastri (L.) to the all-time list for the site. 



Two pine hawk-moths were recorded by George Higgs and party who operated an 

 MV light over a sheet at intersection 18 in the centre of Waterperry Wood from dusk 

 until midnight (SP608092). The moths arrived just before midnight. This is the first 

 time the species has been recorded in Waterperry Wood and it has not been observed 

 in the Hell Coppice/Shabbington woodlands either (Waring, 1988). The absence of 

 previous records of this species is in spite of the intensive light-trapping during the 

 1980s and also much beating of conifers for moth larvae during the Ph.D. studies 

 of Hatcher (1989). The records are very important locally. The moth has turned up 

 periodically in the Oxford area over the years, at first as singletons, but now it is assumed 

 to be breeding in the Wittenham and Boars Hill areas. There is a fair amount of 

 Scots pine Pinus sylvestris L. and other Pinus species in Bernwood and it may be 

 that the moth has at last established a breeding colony in these woodlands. The spruce 

 carpet Thera britannica (Turner) and the dwarf pug Eupithecia tantillaria (Boisd.) 

 were the only conifer-dependent macro-moths recorded from the site prior to 1950. 

 The larch pug Eupithecia lariciata (Freyer), grey pine carpet Thera obeliscata (Hiibn.), 

 tawny-barred angle Semiothisa liturata (Clerck) and bordered white or pine looper 

 Bupalus piniaria (L.) were added to the list in the 1960s but it was not until the 1980s 

 that the barred red Hylaea fasciaria (L.), satin beauty Deileptenia ribeata (Clerck), 

 pine beauty Panolis flammea (Denn. & Schiff.) and Blair's shoulderknot Lithophane 

 leautieri (Boisd.) were recorded (Waring, 1988, 1990a). Had these species existed in 

 the wood in their present numbers during the 1950s and 1960s they would undoubtedly 

 have been recorded earlier. 



The other new addition to the all-time species list for Bernwood Forest is the 

 hornet clearwing. During the field meeting Martin Townsend was sugaring sheltered 



