Spotlight on... Small Brindled Beauty

The female small brindled beauty ( Apocheima hispidaria) is flightless and as numbers have declined substantially since the 1970s (Atlas of Britain and Ireland’s Larger Moths 2019) dispersal of males to find them may well need sustained flight. These hairy moths are associated with oak woodland and puzzlingly, appear to have retreated southwards with only a handful of modern records north of the Mersey and Humber. Or could it be that northern moth-catchers are just not out in winter?

With over 2,500 moth species in the UK, you can see interesting moths at every season. With Spring around the corner, now is the time to start!

The small brindled beauty is an early Spring species and adults are usually out in February and March. However, our database only includes information which people have provided us (and we have collected), so a lack of records doesn’t mean that Small Brindled Beautys aren’t present in the area. All it means is that no-one has told TVERC they’ve spotted them… yet!

If you spot any wildlife when you’re out and about, share your records and photos with TVERC. By letting TVERC know what you have seen you will help protect and improve your local environment by increasing the quality and quantity of data we hold. Photographs are always helpful too, as we keep an image gallery of species found in Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

Absence records are also very useful, so also let us know if you’ve been out and haven’t seen anything!

Your records can inform a variety of exciting biodiversity projects and help people make informed decisions about how to develop and manage land sustainably. We are a ‘not for profit’ organisation so rely on valuable help from skilled volunteers to improve our database.

The female small brindled beauty are wingless and generally brownish in colour. They can usually befound on the trunks of trees. The males are variable, some with a darker central band, other more uniformly coloured.

Check out the links below for more information on Small Brindled Beauty!

https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/small-brindled-beauty

https://ukmoths.org.uk/species/apocheima-hispidaria

Thank you to Robin Buxton for suggesting this species! 

Where should we direct our spotlight next?

If you are a recorder, a local recording group or just have an interest in a species, send us your suggestion for a species, along with some facts and a photo (if possible) to tverc@oxfordshire.gov.uk.