UKMoths has been providing identification help and information about Britain's moths for over 15 years. Traditionally, moth fieldguides have concentrated on the so-called "macro-moths", of which there are around regular species.
To study all of Britain's species incuding the often very interesting microlepidoptera, requires an expensive library of reference material. The ultimate idea of the site was to illustrate as many species of British moths as possible and to provide this information in an accessible format. Over species have been recorded in the British Isles, and currently of these are illustrated, featuring photographs.
If you have good quality photos of British moths or lifecycle stages not yet featured on UKMoths and would like to contribute, please check the guidelines for contributors. The use of monoculture does not provide the necessary vegetative variety to support a diverse species of moths and moth caterpillars.
Loss of green spaces and intensive urban and industrial development means the loss of habitat to support moth species. Light pollution can also be a problem, with the flying time of night-flying species reduced by artificially induced daylight conditions. Urban gardens can also be sterile environments for moths with gravel, decking and concrete and again light pollution leaving no space for moths.
With climate change the southern and northern ranges of different species are changing. With milder conditions some species such as the Cinnabar Moth are now spreading north into Scotland to find the cooler conditions they require. However, this assumes that there will be suitable food plants available to support them. Moth life-cycles have evolved to be synchronised with their food-plants, but climate change may alter the timing of the emergence of leaves and flowers of plants and trees.
This then has a knock-on effect if the timing of the emergence of caterpillars does not coincide precisely with the bird breeding cycle and feeding of the chicks. Many moths are absolutely stunning to look at, even more beautiful than some butterflies.
Many moths are brightly coloured to indicate to predators that they are bitter to the taste and not good to eat! Trees woods and wildlife Poplar hawk-moth Big, bold and full of character. Trees woods and wildlife Privet hawk-moth Gentle giants of the moth world. Discover day-flying moths.
Keep exploring. Blog Elephant hawk-moth: caterpillar, lifecycle and is it poisonous? Trees woods and wildlife Butterflies Find out more about butterflies and how we're protecting and increasing their woodland habitat.
Dr Richard Fox of Butterfly Conservation, lead author of the report, says moths are important pollinators of many plants, including wildflowers, and also provide essential food for a variety of animal species, including bats and many familiar birds.
Because moths are dwindling, we can be pretty sure that other wildlife are also in decline and that our wider environment is deteriorating. It is possible that our rarest species, for which we cannot easily produce reliable trends, are facing even greater threats to their populations.
Larger, or macro, moths in Britain, represent almost out of 2, moth species in Britain, with the remainder classed as micro-moths.
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