68 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
Lepidoptera in South-East Essex
in 1956
BY H. C. HUGGINS, F.E.E.S.
As in 1955 the season was very late, the spring was miserably cold and the
usual spring insects such as the Quakers and Early Grey were still
about when I left for a month in the west of Ireland on May 24th. However,
unlike the season of 1955, that of 1956 continued wet and cold till the end and
was, generally speaking, the worst I can remember since 1903.
Immigrants were scarce except for the three weeks from September 8th
to 30th. Vanessa cardui L. (Painted Lady) and the two Clouded Yellows
(Colias croceus Fourcr. and C. hyale L.) did not appear at all. A very few-
Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta L.) appeared in May and the butterfly was
rare in late August and September. In June Mr. D. More of Hockley took a
single Acherontia atropos L. (Death's Head Hawkmoth) at M.V. light and on
July 14th I took one Dioryctria splendidella H.S. (Splendid Knothorn) in the
garden here (Westcliff) at M.V., it was accompanied by several Nomophila
noctuella Schiff. (Rush Pearl). On August 12th I took one Leucania albi-
puncta Fabr. (White-point) hut it was about September 8th that a rush of
immigrants set in. I was away on the outskirts of Romney Marsh for that
week-end, but found the immigrants arrival had begun there, as I took 4
atropos, 3 albipuncta and one Herse convolvuli L. (Convolvulus Hawk) at
M.V. light in two days, and when I got home found the immigration had ex-
tended to this district. In the next week I had 8 atropos, 2 convolvuli and one
albipuncta reported, whilst Plusia gamma L. (Silver Y) and Amathes C-nigrum
L. (Setaceous Hebrew-character) arrived in swarms. On the night of September
13th - 14th there were 300 of the former and 500 of the latter in my small
Robinson trap, literally sitting on top of each other, there were also numbers
of noctuella and Hapalia ferrugalis Hubn. (Rusty-dot Pearl). Between Sep-
tember 24th and 27th Mr. More took three Margaronia unionalis Hubn. (Scarce
Olive-tree Pearl) at Hockley and Mr. D. Down another on a lighted shop-front
at Hadleigh.
Native insects were in smaller numbers than usual, though there were
several interesting captures.
The high-light of the season was undoubtedly the discovery of the so-called
Isle of Wght Knothorn (Heterographis oblitella Zell.) breeding in the district.
Till 1956 there were only seven recorded British examples between 1874 and
1955. The first two of these, in 1874 and 1876, were in the Isle of Wight, hence
the popular name, which should be changed as it has not been taken there since.
In 1953 three were taken (Surrey, Norfolk and Westcliff) and in 1955 two at
Westcliff. The three Westcliff ones were all taken by me at light in the garden.
On May 5th, 1956, the South London Entomological and Natural History Society
and the South Essex Natural History Society held a combined meeting at Ben-
fleet and Mr. R. W. J. Uffen and I found oblitella common on the rubbish
dump on Pitsea marshes. Subsequent visits by us and several other collectors
showed the existence of three broods, another large one in July and a very small
one at the beginning of October. As it was this third brood that had provided
my three previous captures I am looking forward with some anxiety to 1957,
as it appears possible that our wretched summer may have had a very adverse
effect on this newly-established foreign insect. The colony is in a most artificial
surrounding, the ground is very hot from the decomposing rubbish foundation,