I had been looking forward to this evening for some time, having arranged a night searching for one of North Wales’ most intriguing and localised moths, the Sandhill Rustic. A huge thank you goes to Graham Jones-Burton, RSPB warden, for providing us with information about the moth and, importantly, the location where we could search. Unfortunately, due to illness, Graham was unable to join us for the evening, but his help was greatly appreciated.
Joining me for the search were Jenna, Harley, Marc Hughes and Owen Parsons, and together we met at the Talacre Beach car park before dusk. Talacre Beach is a spectacular stretch of sandy coastline in Flintshire, North Wales, where the Dee Estuary meets the Irish Sea. It is well known for its extensive beach and sand dunes, coastal wildlife and the iconic 18th-century Point of Ayr Lighthouse. We made our way towards the area Graham had marked on the map and, as daylight began to fade, we were treated to a stunning sunset over the dunes.
One of the key reasons for the Sandhill Rustic's very restricted distribution is its close association with its food plant, sand couch-grass (Elymus farctus, also known as Thinopyrum junceum). This tough, salt-tolerant coastal grass is an important pioneer plant of maritime shores and shifting embryo dunes, helping vegetation become established in these harsh and constantly changing coastal environments. For the Sandhill Rustic, however, the sand couch-grass provides something even more important: its food plant and the habitat in which it spends its life.
With darkness now settled over the dunes, we carefully checked the sand couch-grass, hoping that our target species would reveal itself.
But the discoveries didn't stop there. Jenna produced another fantastic find when she spotted a Jem Moth sitting out prominently at the top of a clump of sand couch-grass. This was an especially exciting discovery as the Jem Moth was only the second record for Flintshire.
And then Jenna struck again! During the evening, she also discovered Xanthomus pallidus, a remarkably rare species of darkling beetle belonging to the family Tenebrionidae.
This was an incredibly exciting find in its own right. Xanthomus pallidus is a coastal species native to parts of Western Europe and the Mediterranean and is exceptionally rare in Britain, with reportedly only 172 British records. Even more interestingly, there have been a couple of previous records from Gronant, another important area of coastal habitat in North Wales. To discover such a scarce beetle during an evening that had originally been planned specifically to search for the Sandhill Rustic was an incredible bonus and really highlighted just how important these coastal dune systems are for some of our rarest and most specialised wildlife.
A huge thank you once again to Graham Jones for the information that helped make the Sandhill Rustic search possible, and to Jenna, Harley, Marc Hughes and Owen Parsons for joining me on what turned out to be an unforgettable night. Four Sandhill Rustics, a second Flintshire record of Jem Moth, an exceptionally rare darkling beetle, a spectacular sunset and great company- what more could you ask for? Sometimes the rarest treasures are hiding quietly amongst the grasses beneath your feet.
