The first four sites below are the homes of resident observers, which would not on the whole be picked out as likely trapping sites by a visitor. So they provide good information on the generalist species that are probably widely present, but also on the degree to which rarer or more specialist species do wander about looking for mates, or new areas of suitable habitat.
Ardnamona B9684 80 species
Ardnamona Wood Nature Reserve is at the heart of a large area of interesting wooded habitat around Lough Eske. It is perhaps the finest native oakwood in the county, and is the only one with impressively tall trees growing on a relatively fertile and sheltered site. Lead-coloured Pug, Satin Beauty and Scarce Prominent are the only really interesting species which has turned up so far, but the site is very under-worked, and the wider area has produced Autumn Green Carpet, Chimney Sweeper, Clouded Brindle, Marsh Oblique-barred, Slender Pug and Wood Tiger.
Ards C0835 88 species
Like Ardnamona, the list of species for Ards is relatively small, but the potential has hardly been scratched. This is one of the most diverse locations in the county, with salt marsh, sand dune, mature conifers and native broadleaved woodland of various types, including fen carr. Notable species include Burnet Companion, Little Emerald, Lunar Hornet Moth, Mother Shipton, Pine Beauty, Pine Carpet, Shoulder Stripe and The Anomalous.
Ballyarr C1820 107 species
Ballyarr Wood Nature Reserve is a small Oak/Holly woodland, with an enclosed patch of recovering cut-over bog. It has a rather small range of habitats, but the quality of the woodland is high, and the abundance and variety of moths in a trap is always impressive. This can probably be put down to its antiquity, as many superficially similar patches of woodland are not as ancient as they look. By the latter half of the 19th century, Donegal’s woods had been almost eliminated, and even where they have since recovered, a proportion of their fauna will have died out and not re-colonised. The most notable species at Ballyarr include Ulster’s first and so far Donegal’s only Bilberry Pug, along with Beautiful Snout, Red-necked Footman, Satin Lutestring (unconfirmed) and Scorched Wing.
Buncrana C3333 152 species
There are a number of locations in and around Buncrana which have been regularly trapped over the past three years. Porthaw Glen is a native oakwood, with adjacent heath, on the northern edge of the town. Ahilly and Millgate are gardens. Notable species include Barred Chestnut, Birch Mocha, Currant Pug, Hummingbird Hawk-moth (regularly), Sallow Kitten, Spotted Clover (the only Irish record), Striped Twin-spot Carpet, Willow Beauty and Yellow Horned.
Carnowen H2399 234 species
This is a farm in typical east Donegal agricultural countryside, from which most native woodland and bog areas have long ago been eliminated. At Carnowen, there is an ancient tree-lined lane which is a refuge for woodland plants and moths, and a fairly large garden (ranging from low-maintenance, to semi-wilderness). About 10 ha. has been afforested with deciduous trees (mainly native species) in recent decades. Scarce species turning up regularly, and presumably resident include Alder Moth, Chinese Character, Green Pug, Ghost Moth, The Brick, The Satellite, White-spotted Pug etc. Many rare species, or at least rare in lowland east Donegal, have been recorded here on one or two occasions only – Ash Pug, Bordered Grey, Dingy Shears, Lime-speck Pug, Merveille du Jour, Ochreous Pug, Pine Beauty, The Gothic, The Seraphim etc. It is assumed that most of these are only passing through, but some may just be hard to detect residents, or newly arrived residents in the area of developing “native” woodland. If the latter, they represent hope for the future.
Carrickmagrath H1392 197 species
This is a mature rural garden surrounded by a mixture of wet marginal pasture and scrub woodland (willow, birch and alder), giving way to open moorland and bog within 500m of the trapping site. Scarce or rare species which have turned up here include, Alder Moth, Grey Chi, Grey Scalloped Bar, Plain Wave, Red Carpet and Yellow-barred Brindle.
Glenveagh C0422 166 species
The national park has, not surprisingly, had rather more attention than most upland areas. For practical reasons, most of the trapping has been done near the park administrative centre at the north end of Lough Beagh, but the park extends over 14,000 ha., and includes the Mullangore Wood along the east shore of Lough Beagh in squares C0018 – C0120, and the Owenbeagh Valley Bog at the head of Lough Beagh in C0019. In such a large area, minor habitats can also be found, including a mature Scots Pinewood in C0323. A small moth collection was made in the 1980s, and there has been erratic trapping since then. Only three species have been found here and nowhere else (Plain Pug, Satin Lutestring and doubtful Shoulder-striped Wainscot), but there are many which are scarce or rare elsewhere, including Argent and Sable, Currant Pug, Chimney Sweeper, Clouded Buff, Grey Mountain Carpet, Larch Pug, Mottled Pug, Muslin Moth, Oak Beauty, Pine Beauty, Plain Wave, Poplar Lutestring, Ringed Carpet and Sweet Gale Moth.
Knockbrack C2108 73 species
Like Carnowen, this site is in an area dominated by good farmland, but with only a fairly recent garden to add interest. It has only been trapped since 2002, yet despite all that, Donegal’s only Common Emerald has turned up, along with Lead Belle.
Lettermore G8483 190 species
This location is on the boundary between the heavy gleyed soils of the limestone part of south Donegal, and the peaty uplands. The trapping site itself is in a small garden on the edge of scrub woodland. Marshy fields and bog are close by. Species rarely found elsewhere which are relatively frequent here include Barred Umber, Clouded Buff, Oak Beauty, Ringed Carpet, Scorched Wing and The Seraphim. Rare species which have turned up on one or two occasions only include Alder Moth, Garden Dart, Hedge Rustic, Sallow Kitten and Small Seraphim.
Sheskinmore B6995 etc. 102 species
Lough Sheskinmore, with its dunes, heath, marsh and machair habitats, is generally regarded as the jewel in the crown of a larger area NW of the Ardara – Maas road, most of which is designated as a Special Area of Scientific Interest under the EU Habitats Directive. Trapping has not been especially concentrated on Sheskinmore itself, and many of the interesting records are from sites in the wider area, including Portnoo and Kiltooris Lough. But whether in the wider area, or at Sheskinmore itself, the list of notable species has to be the longest in the county, and includes Argent and Sable, Brown-line Bright-eye, Chestnut-coloured Carpet, Juniper Pug, Marsh Oblique-barred, Mouse Moth, Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth, Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet, Northern Rustic, Plain Wave, Pod Lover, Pretty Pinion, Red Carpet, Shaded Pug, Shore Wainscot, Small Elephant Hawk-moth, Southern Wainscot, Straw Underwing, The Forester, The Grey, The Rustic, The Shark, The Uncertain and Thyme Pug.
Tory Island B8546 97 species
The most remote inhabited island off the Irish coast, Tory is as bleak and barren as they come. But its coastal heaths and wetland habitats are obviously attractive to a wide range of specialist species, and the lighthouse at the western end has produced abundant evidence of moth migration, in the form of dead moths gathered each morning by the lighthouse-keeper in the 1950s, D.J. O’Sullivan. His work has left a legacy which is unique. The following species have still not been recorded anywhere else: Chamomile Shark, Cloaked Minor, Dark Spinach, Netted Pug, Portland Moth, The Annulet and White-speck.
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