British Butterflies and Moths (Collins Complete Guides)

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They frequent fens, open woodland, heaths and scrubby places, laying their eggs on the bark of the larval foodplants such as goat willow, grey willow and poplars.

Galleries for many other parts of the world are being added including North America, The United States and Canada, Africa and Asia. Many of the caterpillar photos received from abroad will be featured in galleries and latest sightings. Please note It is rather hard to tell many of the Ermine moths apart. So there is a chance this identification could be wrong. About 2-3cm long, and looks rather similar to the Five-Spot Burnet moth. The red spots seem almost transparent and throughout, except far north and north-west; expanding range in Scotland and "infilling" in England and Wales Lycaenidae – hairstreaks, coppers and blues [ edit ] Brown hairstreak Brown argus Northern brown argus Chalkhill blue Holly blue Some moths have different names for their different stages for example the larva of the garden tiger moth( Arctia caja) is so hairy that it has become known as the woolly bear. The garden tiger moth is one of our most striking species, it is found throughout mainland Britain, often in gardens, and was once regarded as common but recent figures suggest that its population in the UK has crashed by 92% since 1968.While it is self-evident that species will only be able to colonise areas that have recently become climatically suitable (due to climate warming) if appropriate habitats are available, it is important for evidence-based conservation to demonstrate that this is true across many British species. This new research proves the need for large-scale habitat restoration policies, such as the proposed Nature Recovery Network in England, to be rolled out across landscapes to enhance the resilience of most species to the uncertainties of future climate change. Moths can be seen throughout the year even in the winter, for instance we have the ‘December moth’ and the ‘November moth’ but they are most common through the summer. How to go moth watching There are currently 59 species of butterfly and 2,500 species of moths in the UK. Over half of the moth species are tiny micro-moths. Butterfly identification requires a great deal of practice, skill and patience. However, learning how to identify butterflies and the other 800 or so larger (macro) moth species is more straightforward as it relies on you being able to recognise the colours and patterns on their wings and their body shapes. Our butterfly, moth and micro moth courses taught by expert lepidopterists will teach you about their ecology and identification. Some species are in sharp decline, with 60 species going extinct in the 20th Century. The v-moth has declined 99% in Britain, the white ermine has decreased by 70% and the blood-vein by 73%. While British native species are declining, new species from Europe are colonising Britain. They include tree-lichen beauty, established in 2000 and now found in Kent, Essex, London and Surrey. Clancy’s rustic has spread rapidly since it was first seen in Kent in 2002 and is thought to be breeding in southern coastal counties. P. aegeria tircis – throughout southern third of Great Britain, Scottish Highlands; expanding range north and east in England and Scotland; has colonized Isle of Man

Mair, L., Hill, J.K., Fox, R., Botham, M., Brereton, T. & Thomas, C.D. (2014) Abundance changes and habitat availability drive species’ responses to climate change. Nature Climate Change 4:127–131. doi:10.1038/nclimate2086

Branches

throughout south-east England, with scattered populations in West Country and as far north as the Humber estuary; spreading north and west

Macgregor, C.J., Thomas, C.D., Roy, D.B., Beaumont, M.A., Bell, J.R., Brereton, T., Bridle, J.R., Dytham, C., Fox, R., Gotthard, K., Hoffmann, A.A., Martin, G., Middlebrook, I., Nylin, S., Platts, P.J., Rasteiro, R., Saccheri, I.J., Villoutreix, R., Wheat, C.W. & Hill, J.K. (2019) Climate-induced phenology shifts linked to range expansions in species with multiple reproductive cycles per year. Nature Communications 10:1–10. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-12479-wThere have been more than 2,500 species of moth recorded in the British Isles, of these about 800 are referred to as ‘macro-moths’, they are the larger species which can usually be identified without resorting to a magnifying glass. Compare this to the sixty-one species of butterfly which are regularly recorded in the UK as either residents or migrants and it soon becomes apparent that there are a lot of moths out there! British moths and butterflies: what’s the difference? Many moths only fly at night (unless disturbed), but there are a lot of day-flying moth species, in fact there are more day-flying moth species in the UK than there are butterfly species. A lot of these day-flying moths might be mistaken for butterflies. Species include the humming-bird hawkmoths, broad-bodied bee hawkmoths, six-spot burnet and cinnabar moth. Do all moths eat clothes? Moths, like all insects, provide vital ecological services, including as food sources for other organisms. Their predators include birds, mammals and spiders. Single generation species that are habitat specialists (like the rare High Brown Fritillary butterfly) are most vulnerable to climate change because they cannot benefit from extra breeding time and emerging earlier may throw them out of seasonal synchrony with their restricted diet of food resources, the researchers suggest. Temperature increases