Local entomologist David Notton is a regular visitor to the farm as he monitors local insect populations. Here, he gives an update on his Lauriston Farm moth survey…

Moths – Not Just for Making Holes in Jumpers!

Moths get a bad rap for damaging clothes but that’s only a few of the 2,500 British species and there is so much more to discover. Moths are attractive and inspiring – a diverse and important part of life on earth for millions of years. In healthy ecosystems, they are pollinators, and also food for many other creatures, such as bats and birds. They are also indicators of the state of the ecosystem, because they are very sensitive to pesticides, climate and light pollution.

Lauriston Farm Moth Survey Method

Since 2023, I have been recording moths at Lauriston Farm to provide a baseline species list. In 2024, this included monthly moth trapping, and searching for caterpillars and day flying moths.

Moths found in the traps include the Merveille du jour (above) and the Green-brindled crescent, shown here:

Green-brindled crescent

Moth trapping is essentially simple. Working at night, I use an ultraviolet light to attract the moths and collect them in a box, where they can rest safely. I then identify, count, photograph and release them. Huge thanks to Market Garden staff for providing power and allowing overnight access.

However, not all moths fly at night – the moth trapping method doesn’t work for these day flying moths. So I also look for moths by eye in the day. Some day flying moths, such as burnet moths, are striking colours – they have evolved to taste bad and have bright warning colouration to deter birds from eating them.

Here is a Narrow-bordered five-spot burnet taking nectar from Creeping thistle flowers:

Narrow-bordered five-spot burnet

Finally, searching for caterpillars provides extra information about which moths are actually breeding on the farm, and which food plants they use.

A chunky Poplar hawk-moth caterpillar taking advantage of the recently planted willow

A strikingly patterned Chamomile shark caterpillar busy eating mayweed flowers

The Results

 I wasn’t particularly hopeful because the farm was formerly under intensive arable cultivation. However, I have found 127 species so far, which seems like a good start. Poor trap results in early 2024 reflected poor spring weather nationwide, but fortunately numbers picked up again later in the year.

The tree planting programme at the farm has had some success – the small saplings are already home to a range of caterpillars. Impressively large Poplar hawk-moths were particularly common on sallows, willows and Aspen. I am confident that recent ecological improvements – particularly the absence of pesticides and the increase in plant diversity and vegetation structure – will lead to an increase in the numbers and kinds of moths present, and look forward to adding more species.

If you would like to see the complete list of all Moths and Butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Lauriston Farm up to 2024 click here to go to my full report on ResearchGate  (free download available).