Welsh Journals

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ASHWORTH'S RUSTIC: A MOTH UNIQUE TO WALES MRS. M. J. MORGAN On 20th July 1853 a single specimen of an unknown moth was found near Llangollen, Denbs., 'about a mile from the nearest limestone' by the well- known Lepidopterist John S. Ashworth of Bryn Hyfryd, Llangollen. At first it was thought to be a variety of a moth well known in mountainous regions on the continent, but further examination confirmed that this was a species new to science. It was described under the name Agrotis ashworthii (later changed to Amathes ashworthii) in The Zoologist for 1855, p. 4749, by another well known naturalist of the time, Henry Doubleday: "This pretty species which appears to be quite unknown upon the Continent was discovered at Llangollen, North Wales, by Mr. Ashworth in the summer of 1853 and the specimen forwarded to me for inspection. Last summer many specimens were taken by Messrs. Cooke, Gregson &c. as noted in Mr. Stainton's Entomologist's Annual. "I have forwarded a specimen of the male and a drawing of the female to my friend M. Guennee, and he says that he believes it to be quite new. I have therefore named it after its discoverer". It was not long before others were travelling to North Wales to obtain specimens of this interesting new moth for their collections. Some years later Geo. T. Porritt (1882) a well known Yorkshire collector was writing: 'When collecting in North Wales towards the end of July last, I found, high on a mountain at Penmaenmawr, two batches of eggs of some Noctua, but which I did not recognise. The smaller.batch, deposited on the bare rock, I left, but the larger batch, deposited on a withered heath-twig I brought away". However, he was unlucky with the caterpillars which hatched, as most of them died later. "fearing I should soon have none left, I sent about half-a-dozen to Mr. S. L. Mosley to figure for future reference, as I had been quite unable to make them out. Mr. Mosley, however, at once recognised them as Agrotis Ashworthii, and, on looking up the description, I found they were undoubtedly of that species. I had never thought of Ashworthii in connection with them, or should have recognised them long before". A few years later he was again in North Wales and reported finding a few larvae on the mountains in April 1903. The actual place where Porritt collected the larvae was the Sychnant Pass, and during the next ten years he was followed by a succession of collectors who wrote to the entomological journals of their success in finding the caterpillars. Many took their holidays in the Penmaenmawr area with the aim of getting as many specimens as possible of this moth and other recently discovered species, such as Acidalia contiguaria, the Weaver's Wave. At the end of April 1907 W. P. Stocks, a surgeon from Manchester, was staying at Penmaenmawr with other founder members of the Man- chester Entomological Society. Their total haul of ashworthii was 102 larvae, as well as caterpillars of the Mottled beauty, Feathered Ranunculus, Heath Rustic and the Northern Rustic. Miraculously the moths and caterpillars managed to survive these depredations which have continued with little respite up to the present day.