Tiger Moth Survey

The Butterfly Conservation charity is urging nature lovers to report sightings of Tiger Moths Arctia caja in a nationwide survey of the insects.These beautiful moths are usually found on the wing towards the end of the summer, during July and August. The Garden Tiger Moth was once common in British gardens but over the last 40 years its numbers have fallen by 92%.

Garden Tiger Moth

Two thirds of common and widespread larger moths have declined over this 40 year period with the Orange Upperwing, Bordered Gothic and Brighton Wainscot all becoming extinct in the last 10 years. Richard Fox of Butterfly Conservation said: "Our suspicion is that the primary thing driving the decline in the south is habitat loss". Paradoxically, moth numbers have held up well in Northern England and Scotland with no overall decline in the abundance of larger moths north of Lancaster and York where there has been less habitat loss.

If you wonder what moths have ever done for us - they pollinate plants at night, they are snapped up by bats and their caterpillars are a crucial source of food for almost all garden birds.

It's not all bad news though. Rothamsted Research using light traps to capture and count moths (and release them unharmed) have recorded more than 100 species for the first time in Britain in the 21st century, with 27 new moth species establishing a permanent home here. Many of these have flown across the channel. Thriving moths include the Jersey Tiger, a spectacular day flying moth. If you are really lucky you just might see a long-distance immigrant, the beautiful Humming-bird Hawkmoth, with its whirring orange hind wings and chessboard tail, feeding on your lavender.

Humming-bird Hawkmoth

Moth-night 2013 is planned for 8th-10th August and you can read more about it here  http://www.mothnight.info/www/