SUSTAINABILITY

AROUND THE REGIONS
13
Altcar
Merseyside
Training Camp
moth Cossus cossus, the larvae feeding
within poplar trees for up to seven
years. Red-tipped clearwing
Synanthedon formicaeformis, the larvae
feeding on creeping willow. Lyme
grass Chortodes elymi whose larvae
feed on its namesake. Shore Wainscot
Mythimnia litoralis whose larvae feed
on marram grass and Cnephasia
consperania a micro moth feeding
within the flowers of Rosaceae and
Compositae plants.
Altcar ranges set within the sand dunes of Sefton Coast © Crown
Altcar Training Camp, situated on the
Sefton Coast a few miles north of
Liverpool is a site of large open
habitats and a foreshore of national
importance. They include fore and
fixed dunes, dune grassland, damp
meadows, scrub and plantations which
are mainly coniferous. Through this
flows the river Alt with associated
water edge herbaceous vegetation
and trees.
Work compiling lists of moth species
found on site has been ongoing but
over the last three years a more
standardised approach has been
applied to the recording. Using two
separately spaced Mercury vapour
moth traps on two or more nights
during the spring, early and late
summer and autumn have given a
better picture of the moth
populations. In addition to this,
daytime visits to record day-flying
moths, the collecting of larvae and leaf
mines have added to the records.
To date 367 different species of moths
have been recorded not including
sub-species or variations. 92 of these
have been micro moths. 82 are listed
as nationally ‘Local’ and of these 31 are
also uncommon in Lancashire. In some
cases they are found only here on the
Sefton Coast as singles or in very small
numbers. An example is ruddy highflier
Hydriomena ruberata a grey willow
feeder, recorded on site last year as a
single and the first seen for over 35
years in South Lancashire.
Whilst these ‘Local’ species are of great
interest a further seven are regarded as
of national importance. Sandhill rustic
Luperina nickerlii and grass eggar
Lasiocampa trifolii are listed as
Nationally Scarce B which means they
are found in only 31-50 of the 550 10k
squares which cover Great Britain. The
larvae of the former feed on sand
couch grass at the very front of the
dune system and survive the salt spray
and occasional sea water inundating,
the latter feeds on creeping willow.
The following five are listed as
Nationally Scarce A and are found in
only 16-30 of the 550 10k squares. Goat
The Altcar conservation group meet
twice a year to assess the land
management issues which arise from
the movement of troops across the
land and balance the need to conserve
the wildlife on this important site.
Colonel Gordon Black has given his
time and permission to enable this
moth survey to take place including
the invitation to other Lancashire Moth
Group members to record on site. In
particular on the three dates each year
designated as National Moth nights.
Richard B Walker
County Moth Recorder (VC59) and
member of the Altcar Conservation
Advisory Group
Red-tipped clearwing © Richard Walker
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Sanctuary 44 • 2015