With 2020 being designated by West Midlands Butterfly Conservation – the Year of the Moth – and our new moth book due for publication later this Spring, it is time to get decidedly mothy.

At the Annual Moth Recorders Day in Birmingham held back in January, one of the speakers alluded to the fact that during preparation of the national moth atlas (see review on p. 32) it was very noticeable how under-recorded day flying moths were. This is a generalisation of course but it seems that many moth recorders are only active after dark while butterfly enthusiasts seldom record moths that they come across during the day. This is a great pity as many day flying moths are every bit as attractive as butterflies and their presence often indicates good quality habitat that will support many other species of interesting and sometimes rare invertebrates.

So for 2020 we have selected 12 reasonably widespread and easily recognised day-flying moths which we would like people to record. They fly at differing times of the year and are found in a range of habitats but all should be achievable during the course of the season. For those wanting more of a challenge, we have selected a further 5 moths that will need more effort to locate. The target day-flying moths are as follows:

6 spot Burnet
Narrow-bordered 5 spot Burnet
Cinnabar
Mother Shipton
Burnet Companion
Scarlet Tiger
Hummingbird Hawkmoth
Orange Underwing,
Emperor moth
Speckled Yellow
Chimney Sweeper
Common Heath

and for those up for more of a challenge:

Forester
Clouded Buff
Argent & Sable
Any Clearwing
Drab Looper

Our new book offers lots of information on where these species might be found and how to look for them. There is still time to take advantage of the special pre-publication price if you have not already ordered a copy (www.naturebureau.co.uk/bookshop/).
For every species found, we will need to know the date, how many moths are seen and a grid reference of the location. 
So are you up for the Challenge? Should be fun but will also hopefully produce some valuable new records for the region. You could also seek sponsorship for the number of species you find and raise money for West Midlands Butterfly Conservation at the same time but this is not a condition of taking part.

Mike Williams

Enter you records in iRecord. You just need to register with your email address the record will go to your Branch Recorder for verification:-. iRecord link

You can see to Results on iRecord Activity -WM Branch Day Flying Moths

 Link to Activity 

Or you can email your Branch Recorder direct see emails:- Link to Branch Recorders 

You can use this spreadsheet to send to your Recorder