Some considerations of the fauna and the increasing numbers of species so far recorded 



Concerning the question, should the Channel Islands insects be considered as part of the British 

 fauna, Wurzell writing in 1966 somewhat confused the issue (1966: 9-11); he said that most British 

 entomologists, unlike botanists, seem quite unjustifiably to exclude the Channel Islands, considering them 

 part of the Continent. Though Wurzell conceded that geographically the islands are part of the Continent, he 

 goes on to say that politically and linguistically they are British and it is therefore wrong to exclude them 

 from literature on English fauna. Wurzell missed the point, for if the islands are geographically continental, 

 it implies that the fauna and flora are similarly also continental. Consequently, the islands continental fauna 

 and flora cannot form part of the British faunal lists. However, for the very reasons he stated, it is justifiable 

 that a separate island's checklist should be reviewed when examining the British fauna and flora, at least for 

 the sake of comparison and for a broader overview of the distribution of species shared by the two 

 biogeographical regions. 



Although stating that the Channel Islands were not part of the British Isles, meaning undoubtedly 

 that the fauna of the islands should not be considered British, Long (1965: 17-19) wrote about a number of 

 species that had recently been added to the British List and their status in the islands. He added the inference, 

 that a study of the island's fauna would be useful to British lepidopterists, for the islands were undoubtedly 

 on migration routes for Lepidoptera from Central and Southern Europe. This was also an aspect already 

 noted by C.G.M. De Worms in his paper 'Recent additions to the British Macrolepidoptera' (1963: 101- 

 119). Writing in 1966, R. & M.L. Long provided an account of the state of Jersey Lepidoptera when 

 compared to the British fauna, shown as a percentage analysis. 



Recent records of species were added to the little known fauna of the island of Jethou by J. Shayer 

 (1965: 532-533). A knowledge of the fauna from the smaller and little known islands was slowly increasing, 

 but was still far from being comprehensive, or even on par with their larger adjacent islands. Shayer also 

 provided an updated listing of the butterflies of the Guernsey Bailiwick ( 1967: 26-29). 



The superfamilies of the Praloidea and Pterophoroidea received a boost to their numbers from the 

 island of Jersey, with a special compilation of species based upon identifications of recent accessions by the 

 present author and listed by R. Long (1967: 225-232). C.J. Shayer and M.L. & R. Long were gradually 

 increasing the numbers of species recorded in the islands, including some additions to the butterfly fauna. By 

 1970 the Entomology Section of the Socie'te Jersiaise was actively contributing Channel Islands records to 

 the Nature Conservancy's Lepidoptera Distribution Mapping Scheme. The year 1970, also saw the 

 publication of R. Long's more concise account of the butterflies of the Channel Islands, published in the 

 Entomologist's Gazette (1970: 241-251). In 1973 there saw the first presentation of a paper by W.J. Le 

 Quesne, it summed up the present state of knowledge of insects in Jersey, and was published again in 1990 

 ( 1973: 57-63). By this time Le Quesne reckoned that a total of 780 species of Lepidoptera had been recorded 

 in Jersey. 



Interestingly, by 1971, light-traps were also being run on Guernsey by the Rothamsted 

 Experimental Station. From this time on, their operators were regularly contributing island records, which 

 were passed on to the current recorder for the annual reports on the island. During 1975 R.H. Le Pelley 

 wrote an important study encompassing the insects of the island of Brecqhou, virtually the first time any 

 records had been made on this tiny privately owned island (1975: 385-392). 



The development of Alderney's own journal and methods of recording 



For Alderney, until the 1960's, all Lepidoptera records were customarily published either in the 

 Guernsey journal or, rarely, as small notes in English journals. Alderney eventually embarked upon a regular 

 newsletter of its own, which started as a copying machine printout, issued regularly as the Alderney Society 

 Quarterly Bulletin in 1966 and becoming a printed quarterly journal in 1973. By 1989 it took on its present 

 annual published format and became the Alderney Society Bulletin, commencing at Volume 24. Visiting 

 recorders from Jersey now write up the Entomological Annual Report for Alderney, the local recorders only 

 occasionally contributing short notes, usually as newsletters. Throughout the period into the 70' s, records 

 from the island of Alderney were still being poorly maintained however through lack of field workers. R.B. 

 Freeman, who lectured in Entomology at the Department of Zoology at University College London, resided 

 in Alderney for a period. In 1976 he contributed two short papers on the common butterflies and moths, 

 attempting to boost interest in the island's insects (1976: 7-9 & 1976a: 3-5). 



An increasing paiticipation in recording Lepidoptera 



F. Le Sueur in his book A Natural History of Jersey included a useful account of the Lepidoptera 

 ( 1976: 159-169). A number of new recorders in Guernsey were adding impetus to the island's Entomology. 

 T.N.D. Peet, a resident surgeon, was by 1978 contributing articles in English entomological journals and had 

 established himself as a major amateur entomologist in Guernsey. In 1979 Peet took over from R.H. Le 



26 



