1 Tahrcountry Musings: National Moth Night in UK

Saturday, September 19, 2009

National Moth Night in UK

Thousands of people will take part to report sightings of moths in a national attempt to track the movements of moths in UK.

Akin to bird ringing 13,000 moths will be released over the weekend marked with small spots of poster paint. Members of the public will record the sighting and the data sent to scientists. Moth night was launched in 1999 and has taken place annually.

The event was founded by Atropos (the journal for butterfly, moth and dragonfly enthusiasts) and it is now run jointly with UK charity Butterfly Conservation . The event is intended to produce information about moths, and raise awareness about the declines in moth populations.

2,500 different types of moth are seen in UK. Only six of these have been known to damage stored clothing.

Mark Tunmore is the National Moth Night co-ordinator in UK

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