collectors or recorders 







Island 



distribution 











1st CI 



GB 



A 



G 



H 



J 



S 



B 



Jy 



Walker. (R.B.) 



2 

































Dr Walker 











1 















u 











Warne 



2 































s 



W am net on 



2 











() 



















T 



Wedd 



4 











2 



73 







() 







12 



Williams 































(1 



1 



Woods 



2 























9 







4 



TOTALS PER ISLAND 



1315 



1 



416 



1100 



403 



24 





28 



1023 



544 



From the Simplified Checklist above (: 56-123), it is noted that the species and subspecies are not 

 evenly distributed throughout the islands, or even between the two Bailiwick's. In the table above, it is seen that 

 for the Bailiwick of Jersey, represented by this island alone, the total number of identified species and 

 subspecies so far recorded amounts to 1023. As far as can be established from the amount of un-worked 

 accessions held in Jersey, still awaiting dissection and identification, this figure should greatly increase. Most 

 species are of course, shared between the two Bailiwick's, but it is worth noting, that Jersey is the most 

 southerly and the largest of the Channel Islands. Out of the total of 1023, 175 species and subspecies are, or 

 were, according to present day accounts, seemingly restricted to this island. They consist of 83 micro moths, 1 3 

 butterflies and 79 macro moths. It might be logical to assume that because of its size, and it's proximity to the 

 French coast, Jersey should contain the larger fauna, including species that have not yet spread to the Guernsey 

 Bailiwick, but at present, this is not the case. The largest listing of 1 100 species is presently held by Guernsey, 

 with the remaining Bailiwick islands showing figures roughly proportionate to their size and range of habitats. It 

 is reasonable to assume that if all the islands, within the two Bailiwick's, were to receive similar year-round 

 attention from lepidopterists, with all resultant voucher material receiving satisfactory analysis, their respective 

 listings would be somewhat different. 



Within the Jersey Bailiwick alone, an investigation of just the recorded butterfly species, throws up 

 some interesting results. Apart from the butterfly Heteroptents morpheas, which had been accidentally 

 introduced and had established small colonies, there is only little evidence to suggest that any other species 

 needs to have been restricted to this island. They could in due course, or could in the past, but remained 

 unnoticed, have also spread to the other islands. In other insect groups like the Orthoptera, Odonata, 

 Tvichoptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera, some species are known only from Jersey, due almost entirely to the 

 more expansive specialized habitats that this island offers. Some habitats in Jersey, particularly in coastal 

 regions, are, if not unique to the island, are at least large and stable enough to regularly support species with 

 these particular habitat requirements. Similar habitats are either missing in other islands, or if present, as in the 

 sand dunes on Herm, are perhaps too much reduced to attract viable populations of these specialized species. It 

 is also possible that some species have as yet been overlooked. In Jersey, the presence of larger amounts of fresh 

 surface water, in the form of reservoirs, ponds and streams, also the more extensive sand-dunes, plus the 

 woodland and marshy areas available, probably account for many Lepidoptera species that have not yet been 

 recorded in the Guernsey Bailiwick. On the east coast of Jersey at Grouville, the presence of searchlights, 

 illuminating Mont Orgueil Castle, are without a doubt, a major asset to the area by attracting nocturnal flying 

 insects, especially moths. This site alone could account for a number of species, which so far are recorded only 

 from Jersey. Out of the 175 species apparently recorded only from Jersey and not from the other islands, there 

 are a number, especially in the butterflies, which may either be regarded as dubious, e.g., Pamassius apollo, or 

 extinct, e.g., Leptidea sinapis, Aporia crataegi and Lycaena dispar. Others again might be just notable 

 singletons, e.g. Pyrgus malvae, Gonepteryx cleopatra, Everes argiades, Apatura iris, Boloria euphrosyne, B. 

 dia, and even perhaps the most recent, Melanargia galathea. Similar listings could be made for the moths from 

 all the islands. Within the islands, large numbers of especially the species of microlepidoptera are still known 

 only from singletons. If voucher material is available, many may require verification by dissection. Due to the 

 lack of evidence of dissections having been carried out for many micro moths, as well as the macro moths, there 

 is the possibility that numbers of important identifications may be inaccurate. These examples indicate that the 

 total number of recorded Lepidoptera species is still in a state of flux. 



The smaller islands do not receive year round attention and are undoubtedly under collected, most of 

 the known species resulting from the efforts of only a few recorders during limited periods each year. It is 

 therefore also reasonable to assume, any imbalance in numbers of species between the two largest islands, may 

 be a factor attributable to similar causes. Additional species for the islands are recorded every year, either 

 through regular collecting, or by critical examination of un-worked accessions from earlier years. Total numbers 



129 



