Why moths are bad

Or so it is thought. It is fairly common throughout Britain, occurring in a wide range of habitats. The species has one or two broods, and is found on the wing from April to September.

A double-brooded species, flying in spring from May to July, and then again in August and September, except in the north where there is just one generation.

Quite common in England and Wales, but less so in Scotland and Ireland, it inhabits a range of woodland and open habitats. The female is larger than the male. She has a large tuft of yellow hairs at the tip of her abdomen, which she uses to cover her newly-laid eggs.

The caterpillars, in common with many of the Lymantriidae, are covered with irritating hairs and should only be handled with extreme care. They feed on a number of deciduous trees and shrubs. All the moths mentioned here are on show in our exhibition, Bugs, Beauty and Danger. The adults are nocturnal, flying from dusk and coming to light, resting by day amongst its foodplants. They feed from honeysuckle Lonicera and other tubular flowers on the wing.

The larvae are very large, with noticeable eye markings. They are usually spotted when looking for somewhere to pupate, or when resting on stems in good weather.

Common and very widely and well distributed throughout England and Wales, expanding its range north, widely and well distributed in Ireland, thinly distributed in Scotland, very local and rare in the Channel Islands. The usual form in rural areas is all white, peppered with black dots on both the wings and body.

In this form it appears in British gardens. However, black forms known as f. Intermediate forms known collectively as f. The larvae appear between early July and late September before they overwinter as pupae just below the ground.

Very well distributed and fairly frequent throughout most of England, Wales, and lowland Scotland. Habitat in gardens, orchards, woodland, suburban localities and places where willows grow e.

Common and well distributed throughout England and Wales as far north as Cumbria, local on Isle of Man, widely distributed but occasional in Channel Isles.

One of the most familiar of the Pyralidae moth, the Small Magpie is common, easily disturbed by day and often attracted to light. The caterpillar feeds from a rolled or spun leaf in August and September before spending the winter in a tough silk cocoon in a hollow stem or under the bark. Without further feeding, pupation occurs in the following May in the same cocoon. On the whole, the moth flies from May to September in a single generation. However, it has been recorded as early as February and sometimes as late as November.

Three roughly parallel, diagonal white lines crossing the forewings. The head and thorax are green, the antennae are orange and front legs are pink. The male also has bright pink or pinkish-brown fringes to the wings. The adults are attracted to light.

The caterpillars appear from July to September and then they overwinter as pupae on the underside of the foodplant leaves or in a bark crevice. Fairly well distributed and frequent across much of England and Wales.

More local further north in Northumberland, Cumbria and Scotland. Also local on the Isle of Man and in Ireland. Widespread but less frequent in the Channel Islands. Skip to content Moths are vital to our entire ecosytem. Why moths are declining? Life-cycle of the moth There are four stages to the life of a moth: the egg, the larva or caterpillar, the pupa and the adult winged moth.

Learn more. Video gallery. Osmocote plant food. The blogs. Podcast library. If you love to garden, you need the newsletter! Pest Patrol. Meet Amy Grisak. Amy's Recent Posts. Many individual species have declined dramatically in recent decades and over 60 became extinct in the 20th century. Sadly, among the species which have declined are many beautiful moths which were previously very common and frequently seen in our gardens.

These alarming decreases in moth populations are not just bad news for the moths themselves, but also have worrying implications for the rest of our wildlife. Moths and their caterpillars are important food items for many other species, including amphibians, small mammals, bats and many bird species.

Moth caterpillars are especially important for feeding young chicks, including those of most familiar garden birds such as the Blue Tit and Great Tit, Robin, Wren and Blackbird. A serious decline in moth numbers could have disastrous knock-on effects for all these wildlife species. Already, research has indicated that a decrease in the abundance of bats over farmland is related to the decline in the moths that they depend on.

Cuckoos may also have been affected. Moths are members of the Lepidoptera insect family, just like their colourful cousins. They also share the same life cycle from larvae to cocoon and to their final form. Most of the , types of moths are nocturnal, but all of them are just waiting for a chance to ruin someone's day.

There are over types of moth in the UK, but the ones which you should worry about are the clothes moth, the carpet moth, and the food moth. Although they lay their eggs in different places, the larvae of all three devour everything in sight after hatching. They also look alike! The larvae are usually around mm in length and are creamy-white in colour. It is the moth larvae that destroy our favourite clothes, while adult moths have an appetite for flower nectar, not sweaters. The following types of moth all seek to destroy everything you hold dear while crazily laughing in tiny voices, like the monsters they are.

Moth larvae are equal opportunity destroyers of clothing. You are quite likely to find them scuttling menacingly across the floor as they prefer walking to flying, despite having functional wings.