Join The Garden Tiger Moth Hunt!

... urges Alan Titchmarsh

Alan Titchmarsh and the Garden Tiger Moth.

Image by: www.butterfly-conservation.org

 

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by The Butterfly Conservation

June 20, 2007

Gardening guru Alan Titchmarsh is urging people to participate in a hunt for the increasingly uncommon Garden Tiger moth. Experts want to have some idea of just how rare it has become.

The night-flying Garden Tiger is one of 20 moths that people will be encouraged to search their gardens for during 'Garden Moths Count', being held June 22nd - 24th. 'Garden Moths Count' is part of the massive 'Moths Count' project launched earlier this year and funded by an £806,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

Alan said, "We want as many people as possible to get involved. Moths are amazing. They are the wildlife that can be found in gardens everywhere.

Although moth caterpillars can sometimes present problems for gardeners, Alan emphasised benefits moths bring to gardens.

He said, "They play an essential role pollinating plants and their caterpillars provide vital food for numerous species of birds, bats and small mammals."

Britain’s moths are in serious decline. 'Moths Count' was prompted by research indicating that moth numbers in UK towns were down by around 50 per cent compared with 35 years ago. Some species, including the Garden Tiger, had declined by around 90 per cent or more over the same period.

Moths Count manager Richard Fox said, "The Garden Tiger was once very abundant. It appears to be a victim of climate change. Climate change also means that many moth species are flying earlier each year. In the past we’d have waited until July to ask people to look out for the Garden Tiger, but not these days."

Climate change is also responsible for the arrival of some exotic moths species from southern Europe, including the amazing Humming-bird Hawk-moth. This is another of the 20 target species for 'Garden Moths Count'.

Richard added, "We need to understand these trends and devise conservation measures. 'Moths Count', which is the biggest moth project of its kind in the world, will involve thousands of volunteer moth recorders. The public can make a real contribution to conservation by getting involved in 'Garden Moths Count'."

Members of the public will be able to report their findings via the website www.mothscount.org and this also contains an identification guide.

How to help conserve moths in the garden

• Don’t keep the garden too trim and tidy
• Moths need fallen leaves and similar plant debris in which to hide over winter
• Use fewer pesticides and herbicides – ideally use none at all
• Leave an area of long grass and wild plants as a moth breeding habitat
• Small trees and shrubs will make a garden better for moths
• Keep the garden green – moths don’t like concrete, decking or gravel

For those who want to know more about moths?

More and more people are coming to realise just how fascinating moths can be. 'Moths Count' is organising dozens of events and workshops throughout the country between now and November. These provide ideal opportunities to for those wanting expand their knowledge of moths. Full details can be found at www.mothscount.org

Moths Count – the background

'Moths Count' is managed by the charity Butterfly Conservation and was launched by Sir David Attenborough earlier this year. It has been made possible by a grant of £806,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. In addition to 'Garden Moths Count', it embraces the National Moth Recording Scheme, which will involve thousands of volunteers in monitoring moth populations and will be the largest such moths project anywhere in the world.

The aim is to gather more information about the serious overall decline in Britain’s moth population. The alarm was raised in a report, The State of Britain’s Larger Moths, published last year by Butterfly Conservation and Rothamsted Research.

Moth and caterpillar welfare

Members of the public are urged not to actually handle moths or their caterpillars as this can in some cases harm them. Hairy caterpillars can cause irritation – the hairs are part of the caterpillar’s defence mechanism and are intended to deter predators.