Butterflies and Moths
Butterfly and Moth watching
- 5 ways to attract moths to your garden
- Moth watching - The lazy man's guide
- Wildlife gardening plants
What plants should we plant to encourage wildlife into our gardens? Click here for a list
Online guide to British moths
If you need some help identifying a British moth, please seewww.ukmoths.org.uk
What plants should we plant to encourage wildlife into our gardens? Click here for a list
Butterfly Conservation Nature Reserves
Butterfly Conservation is the UK's leading charity that works to save butterflies and moths. They own and manage more than 30 nature reserve for the benefit of butterflies.
Click here to read more about Butterfly Conservation, and to see their Nature Reserves.
The UK moths count website is a useful resource for beginners and experts alike, it is packed full of information about moths and moth recording, and includes a list of County Moth Recorders who collate moth records locally, and online distribution maps of the UK's macro-moths.
Online guide to British Butterflies
If you need so me help identifying a British Butterfly, we suggest you look at www.britishbutterflies.co.uk/, a good clean and easy to use online guide.
Recent Butterflies & Moths news
- Southern Damselfly boost in Devon
- Marsh Fritillary boost in South Wales
- Rare butterfly makes Worcestershire comeback
- Churchill’s many talents - War leader, Nobel laureate… butterfly enthusiast
- If they can’t stand the heat… will butterflies simply head north?
- Pearl-bordered fritillary thriving against the odds on Isle of Wight
- Plea for public help in tracking down rare UK butterfly
- Pearl-Bordered fritillary reintroduced to sites in Kent and Sussex
- White-faced darter dragonfly reintroduced into Cumbria
More Butterflies & Moths news
- Absent damselfly re-discovered in Britain after 57 years
- Fritillary butterflies boost in Devon
- Rare Emerald moths discovered in Kent
- Large blue butterfly to be reintroduced into the Cotswolds
- Good year for rare Marsh fritillary butterfly in Devon
- New species of Large Blue butterfly
- Man-made London habitat is a rare success
- UK’s Large Blue butterfly rewrites record books…again
- 18% decline in bees in UK in 1 year
New species of pigeon, spike-nosed frogs and world’s smallest wallaby found in New GuineaThe array of new species includes several new mammals, a reptile, an amphibian, no fewer than twelve insects.
Read more »
Queen of Spain Fritillary butterfly breeding in SussexA rare migrant butterfly from Europe, the Queen of Spain Fritillary, has been breeding at a location on the Sussex coast.
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‘Extinct’ butterfly rediscovered in India after a 100 year absenceRediscovery of rare butterflies - (Yellow crested spangle (Papilio elephenor Doubleday, 1845) and Moore's Cupid (Shijimia moorei Leech, 1889 ) from Ripu-Chirang Reserved Forests, India.
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Major study of day-flying moths finds 64 new species & 7 new generaThis major revision of the Dioptinae is the first systematic look at this group in almost a century. After studying over 16,700 specimens housed at 38 different institutions and private collections around the world, James Miller discovered and described 64 new species and seven new genera, bringing the total to 456 species in 43 genera.
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UK butterfly numbers plunge to new lowUK Butterfly numbers have fallen to a new low, according to data from the Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.
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Giant 'extinct' British Beetle found in GloucestershireAn amazing giant insect, thought to be extinct in the UK, has been discovered on a pavement in Gloucestershire.
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Nomads of the Wind and Other Wonders of the Butterfly World - Photographic Story of the Monarch Butterfly MigrationThere is a great deal that we still do not know about the Monarch Butterfly, but this book presents the extent of our knowledge in stunning fashion. Many of the secrets of the extraordinary migration that the Monarchs make are yet to be
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New species of butterfly discovered in ColombiaDec 07. A new species of butterfly has been discovered in the Yariguies Highlands of Colombia by scientists from the Natural History Museum.
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Insects of Britain and Western Europe
Now you can tell the difference between a bed bug and a pine cone bug.The new 2007 edition is the answer to all parents glazed looks when little Johnie/Janey asks what sort of caterpillar/beetle is this? Over 2300 illustrations and an instant guide as to whether you might see them in the UK or not.
Read the full review.
Top ten National Trust properties to see butterflies.
The National Trust is the largest and most important landowner for butterflies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. All (but two) of the resident British butterfly species live on National Trust land. It has many of the best UK sites for individual butterfly species, and many of the rich butterfly sites are home to scarce species.See the ten best sites.
Enjoying Moths - All you need to know about Mothing.
This is a hardback book all about 'Mothing', the increasingly popular pastime of studying moths. 96% of all British Lepidoptera species are moths. That is 24 moths for every butterfly.
This book tells you how to collect them, where to find them, how to identify them, where to look for their caterpillars and pupae, and how to help conserving them.
Although packed with photos and tips on how to identify them, this is not a identification guide (There are good ones available), but it does tell you pretty much everything else you need to know about how to study moths in the UK.
Available from Alana Ecology for £29.95.
5 ways to attract moths to your garden
Andrew Green, expert lepidopterist and owner of Wild Britain (formerly known as Bedford Butterfly Park) is actively supporting the campaign by outlining 5 sure ways to attract moths to gardens.
1. Plant night-scented flowers (eg Nicotiana, Sweet Rocket and honeysuckle).
2. Plant mixed native hedging like Privet, hawthorn, buckthorn.
3. Don't be too precious about a few weeds. Moths need things like docks, nettles and grasses to lay eggs on.
4. Moths and other insects need hiding places. Crevices in tree bark and under window sills are good places to look. Try pinning old egg boxes onto the garden fence and see what you get.
5. Remember that although Moths are attracted to light, bright light bulbs can confuse moths so don't over illuminate your garden.
Large blue butterfly ‘open day’
On Sunday 20 June staff and volunteers will be showing visitors round taking them to the best places to see these little blue beauties during their short life.
