A greenhorn lepidopterist at large in suburban London

Berrylands Station is on the London Waterloo to Hampton Court line between New Malden and Surbiton, a 25 minute train journey from central London. I became aware of its potential for attracting moths in late August 2008. The station is situated on an embankment with the Hogsmill Sewage Farm directly to the north and a typical mix of suburban houses and gardens to the south. The elevated aspect of the station and the comparative lack of domestic and street lighting in the immediate area mean that it acts like a huge moth trap, there are white-painted covered waiting areas and staircases on both platforms, these are illuminated at night and most of the moths are found in these areas. What follows is my attempt as a novice lepidopterist to record and catalogue all the macro moths I encounter on my daily commute to work along with the occasional "awayday" in search of other British lepidoptera .

Saturday, June 02, 2012

The Micro Moths of Berrylands Station (No.2 in an occasional series)


European Corn Borer (Ostrinia nubialis) 15/7/2011

This one's from last July and it caused me a lot of head scratching at the time until the penny finally dropped. European Corn Borer is not a species I would have expected to find in suburban London, but it has colonised the area recently and it is a welcome addition to the station list. On the continent it can be a severe pest of maize crops but I don't think the yeoman farmers of Surbiton have too much to worry about.
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