Post by nomad on Feb 10, 2017 15:39:53 GMT
Moths and Men. Endemic British subspecies.
Coscinia cribraria bivittata (Speckled footman) South, 1900.
In Britain, Coscinia cribraria bivittata of the Arctiinae family was once frequent on heathland of south-east Dorset and the adjacent part of the Hampshire New Forest. There has been a sharp decline in the Dorset population through loss of habitat and this species is now endangered, being last recorded in the New Forest during 1960. The subspecies Coscinia cribraria arenaria Lempke, 1937 is found on the coasts of Belgian and Holland, and has occurred as a rare immigrant to southern England. Specimens from the British populations are often darker than those from European populations where individuals that are devoid of forewing ventral markings are frequent. The larva have been found on the grass Agrostis curtisii and have also be reported on Erica cinerea and Erica tetralix.
James Charles Dale (1791-1872) is usually credited with the discovery of C. cribraria in Britain at Parley Heath near Wimborne in Dorset on June 26, 1820. Dale captured specimens of the male at the end of June and the beginning of July and sent examples to John Curtis who then figured this species in his British Entomology (1825). Curtis writes " Mr Dale says they settle much upon the heath in particular spots as well as the stalk's of grass" and stated that a year later Dale took the first female specimens and a Mr Bentley had also captured the moth near Ringwood. In 1822, John Curtis visited Dale and they collected together on Parley Heath and in the New Forest. Curtis informed Dale that he had been working on his projected major work, British Entomology, each day from daybreak to midnight, the first volume appearing in 1824. The early and important collection of John Curtis, containing many insect type specimens became divided, when both the Victoria Museum, Melbourne, Australia and the Natural History Museum,Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland purchased parts of the collection.
According to James Stephens in his Illustrations of British entomology; Vol 2, it was Mr Bentley that first took C. cribraria in Britain, capturing two males near Ringwood in June 1819. Brown (1980) states that Mr Bentley (William) was an experienced collector from London, who often visited the New Forest and was a friend of Curtis, Stephens and Dale and there was no reason to doubt that he took C. cribraria a year earlier than Dale.
John Curtis figure of C. cribraria from his British entomology (1825).
The following is taken from the diary of the collector, the Reverend E. Banks who visited the Dorset Heaths in 1890 to collect C. cribraria formerly known as E. cribrum "Went by 7:45 train to Ringwood to try my luck in the former locality for E. cribrum, in spite of many assurances that it had without doubt been utterly exterminated there by a large heath fire some few years ago. Walked about three and a half or four miles along the Wimborne road to a house which used to be "St Leonard's pub", and tried the heath exactly opposite. Nothing taken on bare heath, but on other side where there are some small firs, I soon met with cribrum which was easily disturbed and flew very briskly in the hot sunshine with a good strong breeze behind it. They evidently hide-away in afternoon at about 2pm and retire to roost, often in the fir trees, as I beat out several from them. By dint of really hard work in the broiling sun both all morning and afternoon I bagged 18 fine cribrum (all males) and lost several more owing to the wind and their eccentric zigzag flight which begins by their mounting almost straight into the air. At dusk I netted a couple more on the wing of their own accord and flying low and more slowly over the heath. Made a night of it without going to bed, but lay down in a cottage and was on the heath by 2:45am as cribrum flies well at sunrise, but as ill luck has it the sky was entirely overcast and heavy rain began at 3:30, when many moths were just coming on flight: saw no cribrum. Had a very wet tramp back to Ringwood Station to catch 7:35 train homewards. West Moors is much nearer the cribrum locality - only 2 miles away: would I had known it sooner!"
Specimens of Coscinia cribraria bivittata. 1-2. OUMNH Oxford University Museum of Natural History. 3-8. Bristol Museum collections.
Figures 1 & 2.
Parley Heath in Dorsetshire, J. C. Dale, 1820s. Dale Collection,
OUMNH.
References.
Reverend E Bankes (1890). Diary.
Brown S.C.S. (1960) A Note on the Early History of Coscinia cribraria (L) The Entomologist's Record and Journal of variation,vol 72 pp. 92-94.
Brown, S.C.S. (1980) J.C.Dale of Glanvilles Wootton. Unpublished Manuscript.
Curtis, J. (1825) British Entomology : being illustrations and descriptions of the genera of insects found in Great Britain and Ireland: containing coloured figures from nature of the most rare and beautiful species, and in many instances of the plants upon which they are found, vol 5.
Stephens J.F. (1829) Illustrations of British Entomology; or, A synopsis of indigenous insects, vol 2.
Coscinia cribraria bivittata (Speckled footman) South, 1900.
In Britain, Coscinia cribraria bivittata of the Arctiinae family was once frequent on heathland of south-east Dorset and the adjacent part of the Hampshire New Forest. There has been a sharp decline in the Dorset population through loss of habitat and this species is now endangered, being last recorded in the New Forest during 1960. The subspecies Coscinia cribraria arenaria Lempke, 1937 is found on the coasts of Belgian and Holland, and has occurred as a rare immigrant to southern England. Specimens from the British populations are often darker than those from European populations where individuals that are devoid of forewing ventral markings are frequent. The larva have been found on the grass Agrostis curtisii and have also be reported on Erica cinerea and Erica tetralix.
James Charles Dale (1791-1872) is usually credited with the discovery of C. cribraria in Britain at Parley Heath near Wimborne in Dorset on June 26, 1820. Dale captured specimens of the male at the end of June and the beginning of July and sent examples to John Curtis who then figured this species in his British Entomology (1825). Curtis writes " Mr Dale says they settle much upon the heath in particular spots as well as the stalk's of grass" and stated that a year later Dale took the first female specimens and a Mr Bentley had also captured the moth near Ringwood. In 1822, John Curtis visited Dale and they collected together on Parley Heath and in the New Forest. Curtis informed Dale that he had been working on his projected major work, British Entomology, each day from daybreak to midnight, the first volume appearing in 1824. The early and important collection of John Curtis, containing many insect type specimens became divided, when both the Victoria Museum, Melbourne, Australia and the Natural History Museum,Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland purchased parts of the collection.
According to James Stephens in his Illustrations of British entomology; Vol 2, it was Mr Bentley that first took C. cribraria in Britain, capturing two males near Ringwood in June 1819. Brown (1980) states that Mr Bentley (William) was an experienced collector from London, who often visited the New Forest and was a friend of Curtis, Stephens and Dale and there was no reason to doubt that he took C. cribraria a year earlier than Dale.
John Curtis figure of C. cribraria from his British entomology (1825).
The following is taken from the diary of the collector, the Reverend E. Banks who visited the Dorset Heaths in 1890 to collect C. cribraria formerly known as E. cribrum "Went by 7:45 train to Ringwood to try my luck in the former locality for E. cribrum, in spite of many assurances that it had without doubt been utterly exterminated there by a large heath fire some few years ago. Walked about three and a half or four miles along the Wimborne road to a house which used to be "St Leonard's pub", and tried the heath exactly opposite. Nothing taken on bare heath, but on other side where there are some small firs, I soon met with cribrum which was easily disturbed and flew very briskly in the hot sunshine with a good strong breeze behind it. They evidently hide-away in afternoon at about 2pm and retire to roost, often in the fir trees, as I beat out several from them. By dint of really hard work in the broiling sun both all morning and afternoon I bagged 18 fine cribrum (all males) and lost several more owing to the wind and their eccentric zigzag flight which begins by their mounting almost straight into the air. At dusk I netted a couple more on the wing of their own accord and flying low and more slowly over the heath. Made a night of it without going to bed, but lay down in a cottage and was on the heath by 2:45am as cribrum flies well at sunrise, but as ill luck has it the sky was entirely overcast and heavy rain began at 3:30, when many moths were just coming on flight: saw no cribrum. Had a very wet tramp back to Ringwood Station to catch 7:35 train homewards. West Moors is much nearer the cribrum locality - only 2 miles away: would I had known it sooner!"
Specimens of Coscinia cribraria bivittata. 1-2. OUMNH Oxford University Museum of Natural History. 3-8. Bristol Museum collections.
Figures 1 & 2.
Parley Heath in Dorsetshire, J. C. Dale, 1820s. Dale Collection,
OUMNH.
References.
Reverend E Bankes (1890). Diary.
Brown S.C.S. (1960) A Note on the Early History of Coscinia cribraria (L) The Entomologist's Record and Journal of variation,vol 72 pp. 92-94.
Brown, S.C.S. (1980) J.C.Dale of Glanvilles Wootton. Unpublished Manuscript.
Curtis, J. (1825) British Entomology : being illustrations and descriptions of the genera of insects found in Great Britain and Ireland: containing coloured figures from nature of the most rare and beautiful species, and in many instances of the plants upon which they are found, vol 5.
Stephens J.F. (1829) Illustrations of British Entomology; or, A synopsis of indigenous insects, vol 2.
