This week we found another 'first' for Saltholme; the Twin-spotted Wainscot (Archanara geminipuncta) It was also only the fourth record in the county, with two records from Washington Wetland Centre in 2008 and 2010 and one record of three adults coming from No. 6 Brinefield in August 2013.
The Twin-spotted wainscot larva exclusively eats common reed, the adult flies in August and September and is generally considered to inhabit reedbeds in southern and eastern England. Our record is one of the most northerly records in the UK.
This may be an indicator of two things; the movement north of this species as it expands its range, possibly as a result of climate change and the quality of our reedbeds.
Obscure wainscot (Mythimna obsoleta)
Silky wainscot (Chilodes maritimus)
Fen wainscot (Arenostola phragmitidis)
There are a number of other moth species we have recorded at Saltholme which are heavily reliant on common reed as a larval food plant, these include the Fen, Large, Obscure, Silky, Smoky and Southern wainscots, also the Drinker moth, whose caterpillar can frequently be found crossing our footpaths in Spring and two micro moths; Chilo phragmitella and Elachista maculicerusella.