How many species of moth in the uk. Compare the 59 species of butterflies breeding in britain with some 900 species of large moths known as macro moths and a further 1550 or so species of micro moths. Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order lepidoptera that are not butterflies with moths making up the vast majority of the orderthere are thought to be approximately 160000 species of moth many of which have yet to be described. The box tree moth is an invasive species of moth from asia. Butterflies are a beautiful and important part of the uks wildlife.
And britains butterflies by tomlinson and still. The butterflies flying at speeds of up to 30mph cover 7500 miles 12070km over several generations as they. This is a list of butterflies of great britain including extinct naturalised species and those of dubious originthe list comprises butterfly species listed in the moths and butterflies of great britain and ireland by emmet et al. It has a wing span of around 40mm and its wings have an iridescent sheen which can vary in colour from purple gold and green depending on how the suns light is reflected.
Butterflies of britain and europe. The last time this happened was in 2008 when about 11 million arrived in the uk. Even the moths that are brown have intricate patterns and incredible camouflage. Over 2500 species have been recorded in the british isles and currently 2261 of these are illustrated featuring 7271 photographs.
A photographic guide 245243 packed with beautiful photography this is the definitive guide to all 482 species of european butterflies 42 more species compared to the first edition with additional information on over 60 species found in the far east of europe stretching as far as the urals and caucasus. Pyralid moths include some of the largest and most distinctive of the 1600 species of micro moths found in the uk. Moths are also far more numerous than butterflies. They are highly sensitive indicators of the health of the environment and play crucial roles in the food chain as well as being pollinators of plants.
With around 2500 species of moth in the uk theres an amazing amount of diversity to be discovered. The ultimate idea of the site was to illustrate as many species of british moths as possible and to provide this information in an accessible format. There are burnet moths with black and red wings tiger moths with beautiful bold patterns and hawk moths that can be as large as your hand. Most species of moth are nocturnal but there are also crepuscular and diurnal species.
Around 900 species of generally larger and better known macromoths are also found here.