Work is continuing on the UK Moth Night www.mothnight.info, which this year takes place on 8-10 August with the theme of tiger moths. The event has been run annually by Atropos (the UK journal for butterfly, moth and dragonfly enthusiasts) since 1999, now in association with Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Each year a different theme is chosen and moth enthusiasts are encouraged to go out and gather as much moth data as possible, be this relevant to the theme or their own interests, and to submit their records online to produce a snapshot of what is flying in the UK at the time. Over the years the event has produced a huge amount of valuable data which has helped to increase knowledge of species distribution; this has included new species for Britain, new county records and numerous rare vagrants.
Photo via Wikimedia commons
Tiger moths are a particular interesting group in the UK and appear to be responding to environmental conditions in different ways. The Garden Tiger (Arctia caja) has decreased dramatically in Britain (92% over 40 years), whilst the Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) is undergoing a significant expansion of range, especially within the London area. The results of Moth Night 2012 will be published in the journal Atropos www.atropos.info shortly.
Photo via Wikimedia commons