Marvellous Moths!

The August newsletter from Cheshire Wildlife Trust focusses on the wonderful world of moths and their caterpillars.

Did you know that there are over 30 times more moths in the UK than butterflies? Over 2,400 species have been recorded as opposed to just 71 species of butterfly.

You could be forgiven for thinking of moths as those ‘boring brown things that flutter around lights’ of an evening. Indeed many are brown, but with 2,400 different types - they come in all shapes and sizes.

There are two major groups of moths:

Micro-moths, which generally have wingspans of less than 20 millimetres.

And macro-moths, which are more often than not significantly bigger.

Whilst we're probably more familiar with macro-moths, micro-moths are far more numerous with some 1,500 in UK, whereas 'only' around 900 macro-moths occur here.

It’s also somewhat of a myth that moths only fly at night. Many species fly during the daytime and a whole host more can be seen when they are disturbed in their daytime resting places.

Look for the clues of micro-moths

Just as you can ID a bird from its call, you can ID many species of moths without actually seeing them.

As larvae, micro-moths live within leaves, leaving behind trails called mines. Most of us who pick blackberries will have seen these white lines on some of the leaves. Well, these are made by the micro-moth Stigmella aurella (below).

Have you noticed parts of the leaves of a horse chesnut (conker) tree turning brown. This is the infamous larvae of the horse chestnut leaf-miner moth (below).

The larvae of one entire family of micro-moths even go as far as to build themselves mobile homes, or cases, in which they move around in relative safety, being out of sight of any would-be predators’ eyes! Others fold leaves over for safety or spin silken webs to deter predators.

Macro-moth larvae

Macro-moth larvae on the other hand choose camouflage; some are cryptic in colouration, others mimic twigs.

Yet more adopt the opposite approach, declaring their presence through vividly coloured or extremely hairy larvae. Most people will have noticed the ‘tiger-tail’ larvae of cinnabar moths on ragwort in late summer – but the less frequently seen adults are pinky-red and black and a very beautiful insect in their own right!

Where to see moths

Our own Gowy Meadows Nature Reserve had until recently recorded 247 species of moths within its boundaries. However, after one light trapping session a few weeks ago, this figure rose to 304! The probability is that there could be as many as double that figure present, the remainder as yet unfound.

Moths are everywhere! You just need to have your windows open on a summer's evening to know this. Your own gardens are a great place to start.  There are some Cheshire gardens where trapping has been regularly carried out over the years that have lists in excess of 700 species!

You can start your moth quest by simply leaving the kitchen light on and see what comes to the window – a jam jar is enough to carefully catch it in and then look online to see if you can identify it.

You could even create your own moth trap using a bed sheet and a torch: