On behalf of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and with the continuing kind participation of and permissions from six woodland plot owners at Cotgrave Forest, we have continued (predominantly macro/larger) moth surveys in 2022, having started in 2019.

The survey methods comprise night running battery operated Skinner 8W actinic light traps coupled with targeted and occasional daytime deployment of pheromone lures.

The species list for this period now comprises 223 species of macro moth and 37 micro moth species. Perhaps more importantly and reflecting the exceptional value of Cotgrave Forest as a wildlife site, a number of notable species have been recorded. With reference to County Recorder Dr Sheila Wright’s ‘Conservation Status of Nottinghamshire Macro Moths 4th Edition 2020 twenty-five species are ranked Grade 3, four species Grade 2 and two species Grade 1, plus 17 further species deemed ‘notable’ in the County. Here Grade 1 includes the County’s rarest resident moth species.

Grade 1: Webb’s Wainscot (Reedman/Iris), Yellow-legged Clearwing (Oak)

Grade 2: Angle-striped Sallow (Birch), Pinion-streaked Snout (Food plants uncertain), Red-tipped Clearwing (Willows), Lunar-spotted Pinion (Elms, Apple)

Many of the significant species reflect the dominant flora in Cotgrave Forest such as the particularly rare (in south Notts) Satin Beauty (Pine) and this year a Dark Crimson Underwing (Oak) the latter unrecorded in Nottinghamshire before 2022 and possibly an example of a very rare migrant moth now becoming resident.

Webb’s Wainscot and Yellow-legged Clearwings have been recorded year on year indicating resident breeding populations.

Of the 223 macro moths five species are categorised as ‘Vulnerable’ and four ‘Near Threatened’ (Atlas of Britain and Ireland’s Larger Moths, Randle et al 2019).

Permissions are in place for further surveys in 2023. It is envisaged that the list of both common and significant macro moth species resident in Cotgrave Forest will grow and serve to emphasise the significance of this highly valuable habitat in south Nottinghamshire