way short of the shore and there is often an intervening strip of waste ground or
grassland (see above); this is certainly a contributory factor.
Essex lacks sea-cliffs and species such as Selenia leplastriana, found on the
Kentish cliffs, do not occur. There are no extensive sand-dunes, but patches of
dune occur sporadically from Dovercourt to Colne Point (Jermyn, 1974:41).
The few sandhill species which have been recorded in Essex are likely to have
been vagrants from Suffolk where there are extensive dunes; but our north-
eastern dunes have never been worked at all thoroughly by a microlepid-
opterist. We have good shell and shingle banks but entomological food-plants
like Eryngium and Salsola have become scarce, largely through the pressure of
summer trippers. Where the county does excel is in its salt-marshes: there are
none finer in Britain. Essex is particularly rich in species belonging to this type
of habitat. Whereas Essex in general is shunned by lepidopterists, there are few
who have not visited the salt-marshes. Besides the saltings themselves, there
are many brackish dikes edged with plants such as Scirpus maritimus which
support species not found elsewhere.
(9). Inland marshes. Essex has no extensive fenland. There are numerous small
areas of marshland, mostly scattered along river valleys; they are seldom big
enough to accommodate major communities of palustrine Lepidoptera. The
best site in my experience was Hatfield Forest Marsh Nature Reserve, although
of relatively recent origin. The water-level has now been raised and the
sedge-beds submerged; only those species that fed on plants growing on the
fringe are likely to have survived. This type of habitat has not been sufficiently
studied in Essex, probably because of the distraction of the Cambridgeshire
fens.
Migration and colonisation
Essex is as well situated as any county to receive immigrants from Europe
and the Thames estuary affords both a foothold and a route inland for species
seeking to establish themselves in Britain. Ostrina nubilalis and Ancylosis
oblitella are good examples. Adventive species arriving through the East
London and Tilbury docks are also liable to gain a foothold; Blastobasis
decolorella was first recorded in Essex in 1955 but is already widespread.
The history of recording in Essex
The earliest records of microlepidoptera in Essex date from the late
eighteenth century, contained in textbooks which gave localities for some of
the species they described. Entomological journals to which the amateur
collector could contribute articles and notes began to appear intermittently
from the 1830s and possibly the earliest local list ever published was devoted to
the Lepidoptera of Epping (Doubleday, E., 1836). Some of the first journals
were short-lived, but by the 1850s interest in entomology was sufficiently keen
to support a weekly paper which ran for seven years. By 1890 there were three
monthly magazines in which entomologists were recording their activities. The
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