There were almost 5,000 visits to the website during Garden Moths Count, which took
place from 22 to 24 June, and over 400 people told us which of the twenty target
species they had found in their gardens. Despite the unseasonally cold and wet weather,
which is the worst kind for moths (and humans!), the results show that people joined
in the search for moths all over the county, quite literally from Land’s End to
beyond John O’Groats. Comments sent to us included:
“Fascinating and beautiful. Gave me a whole new appreciation for moths.”
“The ease of the set up, i.e. website and species chart, made this an excellent
family event. We found the white sheet worked a treat!”
“I borrowed a UV light trap from my local wildlife trust officer------brilliant!”
One person told us that when he invited the whole street to come to his garden they
were joined by an elderly lady on a walking frame who greatly enjoyed seeing the
moths – proof that moths are the most accessible of wildlife!
The moths
All the twenty target species were found, though as expected some species were more
frequent and widespread than others. The species found most frequently were the
Large Yellow Underwing and the Heart & Dart. The least commonly found species
were the Lime Hawk-moth,
Garden Tiger and
Humming-bird Hawk-moth. The latter two are particularly interesting
as the Garden Tiger has declined drastically in recent years while the Humming-bird
Hawk-moth has increased, both as a result of climate change. The Garden Tiger seems
to have been affected by the milder, wetter winters reducing the survival of its
over-wintering caterpillars, which had evolved to cope with colder conditions. Meanwhile
the Humming-bird Hawk-moth, a migrant from sunnier climates, has been increasing
with our hotter summers, although it is not surprising that they have been less
in evidence in this particularly cold wet summer!
The maps
All the results have now been analysed and are presented as distribution maps for
each of the twenty target species. You can view the map for each species by clicking
on its image below. The red spots indicate where that species was seen during the
Garden Moths Count and the blue spots show the other locations where people took
part in the survey but did not find that particular moth.