Entomologist's Gazette - Vol. 72, No. 1, 2021

Published: 1/29/2021

Article Details for this issue

Glow-worm abundance declines with increasing proximity to artificial lighting

By: TIM GARDINER & RAPHAEL K. DIDHAM

Page: 1-11

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
The glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca (Linnaeus, 1767) (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) is thought to be declining in the UK, partially due to Artificial Lighting At Night (ALAN). It is the aim of this study to investigate the influence of increasing proximity to artificial lighting on glowworm abundance. A survey of adult female glow-worms was carried out along 18 transects in two distinct areas of eastern England, Haddiscoe and Sizewell, where illumination by ALAN was known to be different, and the effect of distance to artificial lighting on glow-worm abundance was tested using generalised linear mixed models (GLMM). The largely-unlit Haddiscoe site had a higher abundance of glow-worms than the highly-lit Sizewell site. At the transect level, abundance of glow-worms declined significantly with increasing proximity to ALAN at both Haddiscoe and Sizewell, although the rate of decline varied between the two sites. The GLMM model with lowest AIC value and highest R2 (98.10%) had a significant interaction effect between site and distance from artificial light. This suggests that even in landscapes with low ALAN, glow-worms are significantly more abundant at greater distances from sources of artificial illumination, and in very close proximity to ALAN the decline in abundance is precipitous. Given the strong reduction in glow-worm abundance due to ALAN, a threshold distance of 100 m is proposed to protect local populations; at closer proximity to ALAN the density of glowing females is seriously reduced. This recommended threshold will require further validation and testing across a wider geographical area.

The possible effect of trampling on the abundance of Lampyris noctiluca (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

By: ADRIAN SPALDING

Page: 12-14

Type: Short Notes

How reliable is the use of transect counts to assess the population of the New Forest Burnet moth (Zygaena vicae [D. & S.], 1775) (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae) at its only British site in western Scotland

By: D. A. BARBOUR, T. PRESCOTT, J. A. STOCKAN & M. R. YOUNG

Page: 15-22

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
The population of the New Forest burnet moth, Zygaena viciae, at its only UK site in western Scotland, was assessed between 1990 and 2019, using direct counts, standard transect counts and Mark/Release/Recapture (MRR). Data from eleven of these years, when reliable comparative transect counts and MRR population estimates were available, were analysed to answer the question as to whether the more economical transect counts provided a reliable estimate of the population size. Lin’s Concordance Coefficient showed conclusively that transect counts do have a consistent relationship with the MRR population estimates. However, it was found that transect counts consistently under-estimate the MRR derived population estimates and that the scaling factor between them is best valued at ×5 (see Results). It can be concluded that, when resources are too limited to allow a full MRR population analysis, the more economical transect counts can trusted to indicate the relative size of the moth population.

An abundance of Small Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila porcellus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) at Upton Towans in Cornwall

By: FRANK JOHNS & ADRIAN SPALDING

Page: 23-24

Type: Short Notes

Phalonidia manniana (Fischer von Röslerstamm, 1839) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae): apparently previously unrecorded observations on the early larval stage

By: R. J. HECKFORD & S. D. BEAVAN

Page: 25-38

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
An account is given of finding the early instar larvae of Phalonidia manniana (Fischer von Röslerstamm, 1839) feeding in the tips of the stems of Mentha aquatica L., eating both the pith and adjoining leaves, being hitherto unrecorded observations. Larval descriptions and foodplants are considered as well as voltinism. The larva appears to differ in colour from that of the closely related Phalonidia udana (Guenée, 1845). A hymenopterous parasitoid was reared and details given.

The topology of a plant-insect visitation network from the Hajar Mountains, Oman

By: J. MONKS

Page: 39-55

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
The Arabian Peninsula is a hotspot for bee diversity but studies looking at plant-insect interactions there remain rare. A network analysis of insects visiting wildflowers in the Hajar Mountains, Oman was made from the results of eight survey periods between 2016 and 2020. Centrality scores were used to assess the role different groups of potential pollinators play in network topology. A list of 113 insect species visiting 26 plant species has been compiled with Lepidopteran species acting as important connectors within the network. A nested, asymmetric and compartmentalised network was recorded. The order Hymenoptera was the most species rich group, with 46 species recorded followed by Diptera (43 spp.), Lepidoptera (13 spp.), and Coleoptera (11 spp.). Amegilla pyramidalis (Kirby, 1900) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Antho - phorini) is recorded for the first time outside of the Socotra Archipelago. The study is the first specific effort to record the flower visitation behaviour of insects in Oman and gives an overview of the resulting visitation network.

BOOK REVIEW Butterflies of the Levant and nearby areas Southern Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Sinai & NW Saudi Arabia Volume II. Papilionidae, Pieridae & Hesperiidae, by Dubi Benyamini and Eddie John

By: R. I. VANE-WRIGHT

Page: 56-58

Type: Book Review

A review of current range expansion of Cacyreus marshalli Butler, 1898 (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae) in western Turkey

By: ONAT BASBAY & EDDIE JOHN

Page: 59-63

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
In recent decades Cacyreus marshalli, an introduced alien lycaenid, has attracted attention due to its rapid spread throughout much of the Mediterranean and into mainland Europe. C. marshalli and more recently Papilio demoleus are invasive butterfly species actively expanding their ranges in the Mediterranean basin in recent years. In 2018, the authors participated in a paper describing the range expansion of C. marshalli in Greece and Turkey, since when the species has established a significant presence in Istanbul, in contrast to our expectations of eastward dispersal along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Here, we discuss the present status of C. marshalli in Turkey and consider the direction of possible future range extension.

BOOK REVIEW Moths – Their biology, diversity and evolution by David C. Lees & Alberto Zilli

By: ADRIAN SPALDING

Page: 64-66

Type: Book Review