About Moths
Moths are a major part of our garden wildlife, but are often overlooked. Many people
do not realise how beautiful and varied they are. Did you know that there could
be over a hundred different types of moth in your own small garden or your local
park? Did you know that many fly during the day and one looks just like a tiny hummingbird?
Beautiful and fascinating in their own right, garden moths are also a vital part
of the ecosystem. Moths pollinate flowers and, with their caterpillars, are essential
food for our best-loved garden birds and their chicks, as well as for other animals
that share our gardens, like spiders, toads, bats and hedgehogs.
But our garden moths need our help. Research has shown that they have declined drastically
in recent decades. For instance the colourful Garden Tiger and its brown “woolly
bear” caterpillar used to be a familiar sight, but since the 1960s they have become
much rarer.
The decline in moths is not just bad news for the moths, but will also affect the
plants they pollinate and the birds and other wildlife that eat them. And like the
canary in the coalmine, the moths’ plight could also be warning us that we need
to take better care of our environment for all our sakes.
We need to know more about what is happening to the moths in our gardens. Which
garden moths are thriving and which ones are disappearing? Which species are found
all over the country, and which moths are now found only in some areas? This information
can then be used to develop conservation approaches to benefit moths and other wildlife.
It will also contribute to efforts to understand our environment, including the
impacts of climate change.
This is why we need you to join in the Garden Moths Count.
You can download more fascinating facts about the
lives of moths and, if you would like to make your garden better for moths,
you can download information
on moth conservation.
You can also find out about other ways to
support Moths Count.