The status of Dorset macro-moths

Newsletter Number 3, in 1996, carried appendices listing the status of all macromoth species known at that time to have been recorded in Dorset. We are all aware of changes in status of resident species, either up or down which may be true changes due to whatever natural or man made causes, or may be due to increased recording activity. There were originally three separate appendices for Critically Indigenous, Migrant and Common and Local Non-critically Indigenous Species. These have now been combined into one table which has been brought up to date by Peter Davey, the Dorset macromoth recorder, to reflect our latest understanding of the status of Macromoths in Dorset.

The first column is the Bradley & Fletcher logbook number arranged in species taxonomic order, the second and third columns are the Latin and English names, respectively.  The fourth column provides the following national status categories, where applicable:

• RDB1, RDB2, RDB3 - the top three national rarity categories, in descending order of rarity.

• (RDBK - considered scarce, but insufficiently known)

• Notable a - found in fewer than thirty 10 kilometre squares nationally

• Notable b -found in between thirty and one hundred 10 kilometre squares nationally.

The fifth column gives some indication of the county status and includes abbreviations (below) relating to primary habitat type(s) where they are reasonably well known and distinct. Noticeable increases or decreases in number and/or range across the county are denoted by an arrow:

C Coast                        T  Salterns

D Dune                         U Urban

G Grassland                 V Verge or Wasteland

H Heathland                  W Woodland

L Landslip                     X Xerothermic

M Marsh or Mire           ↑ Increasing

R River                           ↓ Declining

S Scrub

The status column also provides an indication of the number of sites where the rarest residents may be found, so Sites(2) implies two known sites in the county. A similar notation is used for the dispersive and migrant species; for example, Migrants(2) means that just two individuals from a likely non-UK source have been observed. The term dispersive implies individuals that are resident outside Dorset but UK-sourced or individuals that are frequently trapped well away from their primary Dorset habitat.

Those species which require verification by Peter Davey, the County Recorder, or another experienced observer, either by photograph or retention of the specimen, are shown in bold type.