9 July 2014 - New to Yorkshire

Denisia albimaculea

A new species for Yorkshire - that statement has a satisfying ring to it.  Thanks to Charlie Fletcher, Harry Beaumont and John Langmaid, the Yorkshire Museum Gardens can welcome a new species to the Yorkshire list.  The trap was set again last night to see if there might be another specimen to be found but, despite a good catch, Denisia albimaculea didn't appear again.  The main attractions (out of sixteen different species that workers on their way through the gardens could observe on our stall) were the Shoulder-striped Wainscot and a beautiful Swallowtail Moth. 

White-spotted Black (Denisia albimaculea)

The White-spotted Black (Denisia albimaculea) was originally known as Anacampsis albimaculea and it was reported as being scarce in 1828.  The illustration above is from Plate 107 of British Moths and their Transformations where the moth is shown very close to the gutter of the book, away from the other moths all gathered around a stem of yellow wort (Chlora perfoliata).

This moth might be just a speck but it is a considerable one.