During late May there was an unprecedented influx of migrant moths into Britain. The influx comprised of a wide range of species primarily Striped Hawk-moth, Small Mottled Willow, Bordered Straw and Eastern Bordered Straw to name a few. This paved the way for Derbyshire “moth-ers” to be in with a chance of recording one or two really rare species for our recording area. We were not to be disappointed and several lucky recorders managed to record some real rarities.
So Moth of the Month for May covers three species that quite honestly were remarkable records in terms of their rarity and unlikely-hood of being recorded in our county. Two specimens of Eastern Bordered Straw (1st and 2nd records for Derbyshire) a Striped Hawk-moth, from the same garden and the same recorder as the last one in 2022, and Phtheochora schreibersiana a rare tortrix that was also a first record for Derbyshire. In addition to these three, records of 2 x Small Marbled, 18 x Small Mottled Willow and 8 x Bordered Straw were also attracted to light traps across the county.
