Extinct endemic subspecies of British Moths.
Jan 2, 2014 6:00:53 GMT -8
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Post by nomad on Jan 2, 2014 6:00:53 GMT -8
I thought this would be a good place to showcase rarely seen specimens of a few of the extinct British subspecies of moths that were endemic to the British Isles. I have included some brief information about them to add interest. Please fill feel free to add your specimens or your knowledge of any extinct endemic species of moths occurring in your country. A good species to start with is the New Forest Burnet moth, Zygaena viciae ytenensis Briggs 1888.
I have always liked the Burnet moths of the Zygaenidae family. They always remind me of lovely summer days and if you like your specimens to have bright colours you probably will like these interesting day-flying moths. In Britian we have a good variety of Burnet moths and most are endemic subspecies. Sadly two British endemic subspecies of our Burnet moths have become extinct. One of these was the little Zygaena viciae ytenensis , which was only to be found in the New Forest in Hampshire in the south of England. Specimens of this extinct subspecies are rare in collections and would command a high price today.
The New Forest Burnet [Zygaena viciae ytenensis ] was discovered in Britain in 1869, but was confused with another species at first. The endemic subspecies ytenensis was known from nine small colonies in large woodland clearings. One by one the colonies died out and by 1927 the Burnet moth was extinct in its forest home. W. Gerald Tremewan the Burnet moth expert who studied the history of this species in great detail, wrote in a 1966 paper that he identified two factors why ytenensis became extinct in the New Forest. He relates that the main factor was pressure from collectors, who in some cases he says removed all of the adults of the entire emergence in some of the colonies. Tremewan also mentions that habitat change was also responsible, but the main cause was human predation. You may and I have my own views on why the New Forest Burnet moth became extinct, I am simply relating those findings and conclusions of Gerald Tremewan. I would suggest that habitat change would have been the most likely cause for this moths disappearance.
Quite unexpectedly in 1963 Zygaena viciae turned up at a site on steep grassy cliffs on the Argyllshire coast of western Scotland. This was an amazing and remarkable find, however this was not the extinct subspecies ytenensis This new Zygaena viciae population was described by Tremewan as a new subspecies 'argyllensis'. There was only a small population and although the sea cliffs of Argyllshire have been searched this remains the only known colony. It also seemed that subspecies argyllensis was also heading for extinction. In 1990 because of intensive grazing less than twenty moths of Z. viciae argyllensis were observed on a single ledge. The conservationists acted just in time, they fenced off the cliffs and removed the grazing stock. Z. viciae argyllensis quite quickly recovered and by 2005 there were several thousand moths present. Since then the population has declined again, but remains reasonably healthy. There have been attemps to introduce it to a few other sites. Why subspecies argyllensis should be confined to one cliff is a complete mystery because there are miles of similar cliffs along the coastline of Argyllshire. The exact site of the main colony of argyllensis is one of the best kept secrets in British Entomology! To lose one subspecies of Z. viciae was bad enough but to lose another endemic subspecies and this rare moth altogether would have been a disaster. If ever a subspecies was on the very brink of extinction, it was Zygaena viciae argyllensis.
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Specimens of the extinct New Forest Burnet, Zygaena viciae ytenensis
I have always liked the Burnet moths of the Zygaenidae family. They always remind me of lovely summer days and if you like your specimens to have bright colours you probably will like these interesting day-flying moths. In Britian we have a good variety of Burnet moths and most are endemic subspecies. Sadly two British endemic subspecies of our Burnet moths have become extinct. One of these was the little Zygaena viciae ytenensis , which was only to be found in the New Forest in Hampshire in the south of England. Specimens of this extinct subspecies are rare in collections and would command a high price today.
The New Forest Burnet [Zygaena viciae ytenensis ] was discovered in Britain in 1869, but was confused with another species at first. The endemic subspecies ytenensis was known from nine small colonies in large woodland clearings. One by one the colonies died out and by 1927 the Burnet moth was extinct in its forest home. W. Gerald Tremewan the Burnet moth expert who studied the history of this species in great detail, wrote in a 1966 paper that he identified two factors why ytenensis became extinct in the New Forest. He relates that the main factor was pressure from collectors, who in some cases he says removed all of the adults of the entire emergence in some of the colonies. Tremewan also mentions that habitat change was also responsible, but the main cause was human predation. You may and I have my own views on why the New Forest Burnet moth became extinct, I am simply relating those findings and conclusions of Gerald Tremewan. I would suggest that habitat change would have been the most likely cause for this moths disappearance.
Quite unexpectedly in 1963 Zygaena viciae turned up at a site on steep grassy cliffs on the Argyllshire coast of western Scotland. This was an amazing and remarkable find, however this was not the extinct subspecies ytenensis This new Zygaena viciae population was described by Tremewan as a new subspecies 'argyllensis'. There was only a small population and although the sea cliffs of Argyllshire have been searched this remains the only known colony. It also seemed that subspecies argyllensis was also heading for extinction. In 1990 because of intensive grazing less than twenty moths of Z. viciae argyllensis were observed on a single ledge. The conservationists acted just in time, they fenced off the cliffs and removed the grazing stock. Z. viciae argyllensis quite quickly recovered and by 2005 there were several thousand moths present. Since then the population has declined again, but remains reasonably healthy. There have been attemps to introduce it to a few other sites. Why subspecies argyllensis should be confined to one cliff is a complete mystery because there are miles of similar cliffs along the coastline of Argyllshire. The exact site of the main colony of argyllensis is one of the best kept secrets in British Entomology! To lose one subspecies of Z. viciae was bad enough but to lose another endemic subspecies and this rare moth altogether would have been a disaster. If ever a subspecies was on the very brink of extinction, it was Zygaena viciae argyllensis.
Specimens of the extinct New Forest Burnet, Zygaena viciae ytenensis