Types Of Moths In The Uk

There are over 160000 recorded species of moths across the globe with around 11000 of these being found in the united states and around 2500 being found in the united kingdom.

Types of moths in the uk. Nine species of hawk moth breed in the uk with another eight species visiting as migrants. Due to this white peppered moths not a separate species just white colored biston betularia who stood out against the blackened trees underwent a drastic drop in population due to extensive natural predation. Gentle giants of the moth. Traditionally moth fieldguides have concentrated on the so called macro moths of which there are around 800 regular species.

Moths are flying insects in the order of lepidoptera which is also the same order to which butterflies belong. To study all of britains species incuding the often very interesting microlepidoptera requires an expensive library of reference material. Moths are also far more numerous than butterflies. There are around 2500 different species of hawk moth in the world and several of those are found in the uk.

Moths are often unfairly thought of as butterflies drab cousins. In the uk the largest of our native moths are the hawk moths. While sometimes overshadowed by their colourful butterfly cousins moths are considerably more diverse with about 2500 species in the uk. Unlike butterflies moths rest with their wings flat.

They are among the strongest fliers of any moths the woodland trust says. One of our most colourful is the elephant hawk moth. But there are lots of wonderfully colourful species and plenty with dramatic patterns including in the uk. Black moths on the other hand grew in numbers dramatically massively helped by the camouflage now afforded to them.

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. With around 2500 species of moth in the uk theres an amazing amount of diversity to be discovered. Indoor moths in uk areas are rarely larger than 20 mm although there are outdoor species which can reach up to 120 mm. 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.

Whether you are a seasoned moth spotter or youre winging it for the first time here is a guide to nine vibrant distinctive british moths to look out for on a summer walk. They look like hairy worms and are sometimes mistaken for. These large and brightly coloured olive green pink moths are also quite distinctive as a caterpillar too. Even the moths that are brown have intricate patterns and incredible camouflage.