Saturday, 8 December 2012

Nagy Hőscincér/Great Capricorn Beetle


Nagy Hőscincer  Cerambyx cerdo  Great Capricorn Beetle
Whilst splitting logs yesterday I noticed that a couple of them had some decayed material on the surface and beetle galleries under the bark. Then I looked back at the pile of split pieces on the ground and was surprised to see a very large and beautiful longhorn beetle next to them. The insect was 53mm long and each antenna was 43mm long. Cerambyx cerdo, The Great Capricorn Beetle or Nagy hőscincér - a female, males have even longer antennae. The temperature was below zero but the sun was shining and the beetle slowly became active and began to move about. This insect is one of the largest European beetles and endangered throughout its range. It is listed on annexes II and IV of the EU Habitats Directive. A wood feeding species, its presence is an indication of 'healthy forest habitat' with long term continuity of deadwood - hence its increasing scarcity. The eggs are laid in or on deadwood parts of living trees and the later larval stages bore into sound wood where they eventually pupate. After eclosion the adult beetles overwinter in the pupation cavity. Like the Black Woodpecker, this species is regarded as an 'ecosystem engineer' because, through its excavation of living wood, it facilitates a whole assemblage of other forest species which either feed or breed within living and decaying wood. 
7cm tall cavity inadvertently opened by axe split


part of the trunk with decaying sapwood
containing various beetle galleries - perhaps
where the insect first colonised the tree
split surface showing tunnel leading
to cavity in heart of trunk



detail of cavity

Working through the pieces of firewood I found the two sections of a log which when they came asunder had opened up a large cavity deep in the heartwood. Presumably this was a Great Capricorn Beetle pupal cavity. The firewood, from somewhere in the Bükk hills, was bought in August, but we do not know when it was felled, and it was split into quarter pieces shortly afterwards. The log was a sawn length of oak trunk with the bark on, 24cm long and probably about 25 to 30 cm diameter before it was split up. On one of the split faces there is a hole which presumably led to an exit or entrance at the exterior surface of the tree before it was split. This was oval in cross section and about 20mm x 11mm. The tunnel continues at a gradient of about 45 degrees (unclear if this was an incline or decline because I don't know which way up the log was originally) into the heart of the trunk and terminates in a 7cm long cavity. This is also roughly oval or flattened-cylindrical in cross section and c.30mm x 15mm. The mouth of the chamber is blocked with a dense pack of fibrous sawdust-like material and the walls of the cavity are clothed with partially detached fine wood fibres giving them a felted-like texture. The nearest exterior surface is 10 cm and the wood surrounding the cavity is completely sound and solid. In the sapwood there is a small column of decayed wood which also contains various beetle workings including the remains of a few small adult beetles which I think are Scolytids. However some of the sapwood borings are up to 7mm diameter and are perhaps the work of the earlier stages of Cerambyx larvae(?).

 
 
An amazing beetle, I feel sorry to have  destroyed its incredible winter fastness and disturbed its hibernation. Other than with an axe or chainsaw it is difficult to imagine such a fortress being broken into. A determined predator like Black Woodpecker might be capable but it would hardly be worth the effort for a single beetle. No doubt the larval stages, when they are living closer to the bark, are taken in large numbers by woodpeckers though. A female beetle lays up to 300 eggs of which just 2 must reach adulthood (a process which takes 3 or more years) for a stable population to be maintained. I am now attempting to overwinter the insect in an artificial shelter in a cold cellar where it will be safe and am grateful to Francesco Vitali of the world Cerambycoidea forum for his advice.
 
References 
Buse, J., Ranius, T. & Assmann, T. (2008) An endangered longhorn beetle associated with old oaks and its possible role as an ecosystem engineer. Conservation Biology 22, 329-37
EU Wildlife and Sustainable Farming project (2009) Great Capricorn beetle – Cerambyx cerdo factsheet
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, 25 November 2012

Tollas Púposszövő/Plumed Prominent

Ptilophora plumigera - an alert male with wings and antennae unfolded as it musters energy to fly
These have been the stars of November. The first one, a male, appeared at a lit window on the evening of 23rd October and was met with some excitement. With these plumes it was immediately recognisable despite it being the first Plumed Prominent (Ptilophora plumigera) I had seen. It is a scarce moth in Britain, restricted to a few scattered populations in some southern woods with Field Maple, Acer campestre, according to Waring and Townsend's field guide (although interestingly they say larvae have occasionally been collected from Sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus). My 40W actinic trap caught two (both males) on the night of the 26th and I was very pleased about that. This was just the vanguard though. Throughout the first half of November it became an increasingly regular 'kitchen window moth'. On the 14th November the outside porch light was accidentally left on in the early evening and at least 10 males alighted on the whitewashed walls in the space of just half an hour between 17:00 & 17:30. Overnight traps in sight of south-facing woodland with Acer campestre on the 12th and 18th November attracted 20 and 23 individuals respectively of which just over 10% were females. It was by far the most abundant species on both these nights. The females are said to arrive at light later in the night than the males. The antennae of the females are not plumed (see photos) and their forewings are somewhat duller and darker (although there is considerable variation in the ground colour of the males' wings from a pale yellow to a rich tobacco). Although this is not mentioned in my field guide the females, at least in the individuals I encountered, were slightly larger as well, not just in the abdomen but in having a larger wingspan.
 
They seem to be fading away now (along with their feathered friends, Tollascsápú Araszoló, Colotois pennaria, which have been regular at windows and numerous in light traps since late September and the last one of which I saw a week ago). This is only the third Notodontid I have recorded in Miskolc to date (whereas as at 25.11.2012 76 Noctuids and 68 Geometrids). The first was 'The Argentine' or Ezüstfoltos Púposszövő (Spatalia argentina), which vies with this one for impressiveness. When I can find out more about this I intend to add a blog post on it. The other was Drymonia ruficormis.


A female Ptilophora plumigera with filamentous antennae - one of three attracted to 40W actinic light during the night of 12th to 13th November 2012
 
the female is not 'tollas' and, in common with many nocturnal moth species, it flies to light less readily than the male.

 
One of at least 21 males which came to a 40W actinic lamp in the first two hours after dusk on 18th November 2012.

 



 

Thursday, 15 November 2012

Őszibaglyok és Borostyánvirágok - Autumn Noctuidae & Ivy blossom

Vörös Őszibagoly Conistra rubiginea Dotted Chestnut


I had heard before from lepidopterists about how great a time can be had recording moths at Ivy (Hedera helix) blossom but until now my efforts to find moths in this way had been pretty disappointing. Its advantage for the moth recorder is that it flowers late in the year when other possible nectar sources are becoming scarcer. It can therefore function as a relatively efficient natural attractant, focussing the feeding moths present in a habitat together into one place. In Britain, where ivy is a very common woodland plant, finding good stands of it in bloom can be less easy than you might expect - the plants need warmth and sun to produce much blossom. Edges of woods can be good but often the flowers are too high to inspect easily. And then you need the weather conditions to coincide - the evenings need to be warm and calm enough for moths to be actively feeding. Conditions in the British autumn and early winter are often not like that. Living in Scotland where Ivy doesn't even always flower didn't help but even when I have found suitable clumps in England usually it has been in the wrong place and the wrong time for me to observe many moths.


  Zöldes Csipkésbagoly               Phlogophora meticulosa            Angle Shades
 
This year was different because I was in Hungary and in a house which has a big, south-facing patch of ivy alongside it which was well into bloom by late September. In Britain Hedera helix is often in flower a month later and tends to be visited mainly by winter Geometrids and the over-wintering species of Noctuidae (Leverton 2001 Enjoying Moths Poyser). Thronged with Hymenoptera and Diptera by day there were also good numbers of Lepidoptera by night. In the period from 27th September to October 5th, when the evenings were generally warm, I made 53 records consisting of 20 species (about the same number of species as my 40W actinic light trap attracted at the end of September) although I am sure these numbers underplay the total amount of moth activity there was. After that, although there was still sufficient nectar to attract flies by day for another week or two, the nights became distinctly cooler and no more moths were to be found.





Gamma Bagoly      Autographa gamma       Silver Y
unlike the other Noctuids found feeding this moth (in common with others of its subfamily, the Plusiinae) feeds in a semi-hover in front of the flowers - its legs are used for support but the wings are not folded and seldom remain still for long.
Four families were represented but three of these, the Pterophoridae, Arctiidae and Geometridae, only by single individuals; most of the moths were Noctuids. There were 2 species of 'any month' moth (Phlogophora meticulosa and Emmelina monodactyla) plus a Buttoned Snout (Hypena rostralis), a species with a protracted flight period, and  four species of Noctuid which overwinter as adults. The rest were summer or autumn species and although not a huge diversity there was a good range of species some of which, at least for me, were rather choice.
 


Élénksárga Őszibagoly         Jodia croceago             Orange Upperwing
perhaps this moth was the best surprise, an overwintering species but one that my light trap failed to detect either in autumn or spring. It is a warmth loving species with a Holomediterranean distribution, (very rare in Britian or possibly extinct) in Hungary probably associated with the Quercus pubescens karst scrub-woodland habitat which occurs in a scatter of patches amongst more extensive cover of other woodland types, for example, in the Bükk hills. There is a fragment of such woodland on Kis Köves here in Miskolctapolca and it is pleasing to think that the moth may breed here.


Name Magyar1 English family flight period2
Agrochola circellaris Világosbarna Őszibagoly The Brick Noctuidae VIII-X
Agrochola laevis Könnyű Őszibagoly Noctuidae VIII-X
Allophyes oxyacanthae Galagonyabagoly Green-brindled Crescent  Noctuidae IX-XI
Autographa gamma Gamma Bagoly Silver Y Noctuidae V-X
Conistra rubiginea Vörös Őszibagoly Dotted Chestnut Noctuidae IX-V
Conistra vaccinii Változékony Őszibagoly Chestnut Noctuidae IX-V
Dryobotodes eremita Változékony Tölgybagoly Brindled Green Noctuidae IX-XI
Eilema sp. egy Zuzmószövőlepke a Footman Arctidae  
Emmelina monodactyla Közönséges Tollasmoly Morning-glory Plume Moth Pterophoridae I-XII
Eupsilia transversa Rozsdabarna Télibagoly Satellite Noctuidae IX-V
Hypena rostralis Közönségés Karcsúbagoly Buttoned Snout Noctuidae III-XI
Idaea degeneraria Barnasávos Apróaraszoló  Portland Ribbon wave Geometridae V, VIII-IX
Jodia croceago Élénksárga Őszibagoly Orange Upperwing Noctuidae IX-V
Lygephila craccae  Bükkönybagoly Scarce Blackneck Noctuidae VI-IX
Mythimna albipuncta Fehérpettyes Rétibagoly White-point Noctuidae V-IX
Mythimna l-album L-betűs Fűbagoly L-album Wainscot Noctuidae V-X
Noctua comes Kis Sárgafübagoly  Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctuidae VI-IX
Phlogophora meticulosa Zöldes Csipkésbagoly Angle Shades Noctuidae V-X
Xanthia gilvago Foltos Sárgabagoly Dusky-lemon Sallow  Noctuidae VIII-X
Xanthia icteritia Nyárfa-Őszibagoly Sallow Noctuidae VIII-X
   
1. following names given at www.macrolepidoptera.hu  
2. largely based on phenological information given at www.lepidoptera.pl    
A list of the 20 species of lepidoptera found naturally feeding at Hedera helix blossom in late September- Early October 2012, Miskolctapolca, Hungary



Bükkönybagoly            Lygephila craccae       Scarce Blackneck
 

Galagonyabagoly          Allophyes oxyacanthae           Green-brindled Crescent

L-betűs Fűbagoly         Mythimna l-album       L-album Wainscot
 

Monday, 8 October 2012

7th October 2012 - Néhány őszi bükki lepke




 
  Tarka Őszibagoly   Agrochola litura      Brown-spot Pinion
 
The weather forecast was true and last night's temperature stayed above 10 degrees. The nights have been cooler in general though and the Hedera flowers, which are still busy with diptera and hymenoptera by day, are much quieter at night than they were in the last few days of September. Then we found a good range of autumn Noctuids nectaring which will be the subject of another post. So I decided to try light to record a few more species before the winter sets in.

The trap attracted a delightful range of species (about 70 moths in total) including a couple I have yet to determine.

40W actinic light, Miskolctapolca 6th-7th October 2012:

Agrochola circellaris
Agrochola laevis
Agrochola litura
Allophyes oxyacanthae
Colotois pennaria
Conistra erythrocephala
Conistra vaccinii
Cymatophorina diluta
Diloba caeruleocephala
Dryobotodes eremita
Eupithecia ericeata
Eupsilia transversa
Hypsopygia costalis
Idaea degeneraria
Idaea seriata
Lygephila craccae
Thera juniperata



Kékes Őszibagoly   Diloba caeruleocephala          Figure of Eight


Tollascsápú Araszoló    Colotois pennaria     Feathered Thorn
Some marvel at tropical orchids and hummingbirds but
what happened with evolution and moths' wings and
temperate deciduous tree leaves is pretty amazing.

Őszi Pihésszövő      Cymatophorina diluta           Oak Lutestring
 

Saturday, 6 October 2012

25th September 2012 - a storm and Beautiful Arches


Beautiful Arches/Őszi Porfírbagoly by Philip Sansum
Őszi Porfírbagoly    Mniotype satura     Beautiful Arches

My moth trap arrived in Hungary 9 days behind me and was set the next evening. Unfortunately this coincided with a great thunderstorm and torrential rain for most of the night. The rainshield did its job though and there were still about 40 moths of 20 species inside in the morning. These included two Beautiful Arches and several other autumn noctuids (oszibaglyok).

Tiliacea sulphurago
Tiliacea aurago
Allophyes oxyacanthae
Xanthia icteritia
Cymatophorina diluta
Conistra rubiginea
Eupsilia transversa
Lygephila craccae
Noctua comes

Noctua janthe
Tholera decimalis
Mythimna l-album
Mniotype satura
Amphipyra livida
Autographa gamma
Agrochola laevis


The Geometridae were represented by The Tissue (Triphosa dubitata), Feathered Thorn (Colotois pennaria), Portland Ribbon Wave (Idaea degeneraria) and a very smart Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata).

Saturday, 31 March 2012

28th March 2012 - Tavaszi zöldbagoly

Tavaszi zöldbagoly         Valeria oleagina             Green-brindled Dot
Another species which is on the British list but unlikely to be seen in Britain - it is a southern European - west Asian moth in its distribution, extending north and west as far as the southern half of Germany. It was recorded from southern England in the 19th C but not since and those early records are regarded as dubious. Superb moth. Two came to actinic light on 27th-28th March but it took some time to name it. It superficially resembles the hadenine (or now noctuine), Dot Moth (Melanchra, http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=2), which led me astray. I was looking in the wrong subfamily - it is actually in the Amphipyrinae (or Cuculliinae or Psaphidininae depending on what system is being followed!).


Wednesday, 28 March 2012

Néhány tavaszi bükki lepke (I)

Zöldes Tavaszi-araszoló
Phigalia pilosaria
Pale Brindled Beauty
Változékony Fésűsbagoly
Orthosia incerta
Clouded Drab
Vörös Őszibagoly
Conistra rubiginea
Dotted Chestnut
Vadgesztenye-araszoló
Alsophila aescularia
March Moth

Kis Fésűsbagoly            Orthosia cruda              Small Quaker
Télibagolylepke
Conistra rubiginosa
Black-spot Chestnut 
Tölgyes-fésűsbagolyOrthosia mundaTwin-spotted Quaker 
Tölgy Tavaszi-araszoló
Agriopis leucophaearia
Spring Usher
Közönséges Fabagoly
Lithophane ornitopus
Grey Shoulder-knot
Aranysárga Téliaraszoló
Agriopis marginaria
Dotted Border
Kőrisfa-lebenyesaraszoló
Trichopteryx polycommata
Barred Tooth-striped 
Tavaszi Kökényaraszoló
Theria rupicapraria

Anticlea badiata            Shoulder-stripe
Foltos Fésűsbagoly        Orthosia gothica           Hebrew Character


Vörös Őszibagoly          Conistra rubiginea         Dotted Chestnut

Borzas Tavaszi-araszoló    Apocheima hispidaria    Small Brindled Beauty


Felemás Medvelepke    Diaphora mendica         Muslin Moth


Tölgyes-fésűsbagoly     Orthosia munda            Twin-spotted Quaker


Mogyoróbagoly            Colocasia coryli            Nut-tree Tussock


Vörhenyes Tavaszibagoly           Cerastis rubricosa         Red Chestnut