Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- PART I FACTORS DRIVING CHANGES IN WILDLIFE
- PART II CONSERVATION IN ACTION
- PART III THE CASE HISTORIES
- 15 Mammals in the twentieth century
- 16 Bats
- 17 State of bird populations in Britain and Ireland
- 18 The conservation of the Grey Partridge
- 19 Reptiles
- 20 Amphibians
- 21 Freshwater fishes: a declining resource
- 22 Riverflies
- 23 Bumblebees
- 24 Butterflies
- 25 Moths
- 26 Dragonflies (Odonata) in Britain and Ireland
- 27 Flies, beetles and bees, wasps and ants (Diptera, Coleoptera and aculeate Hymenoptera)
- 28 Hemiptera
- 29 Grasshoppers, crickets and allied insects
- 30 Aerial insect biomass: trends from long-term monitoring
- 31 Other invertebrates
- 32 Land and freshwater molluscs
- 33 The seashore
- 34 The offshore waters
- 35 Plants
- 36 Conclusion: what is the likely future for the wildlife in Britain and Ireland?
- Glossary
- Name index
- Subject index
- Plate section
- References
25 - Moths
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2012
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- PART I FACTORS DRIVING CHANGES IN WILDLIFE
- PART II CONSERVATION IN ACTION
- PART III THE CASE HISTORIES
- 15 Mammals in the twentieth century
- 16 Bats
- 17 State of bird populations in Britain and Ireland
- 18 The conservation of the Grey Partridge
- 19 Reptiles
- 20 Amphibians
- 21 Freshwater fishes: a declining resource
- 22 Riverflies
- 23 Bumblebees
- 24 Butterflies
- 25 Moths
- 26 Dragonflies (Odonata) in Britain and Ireland
- 27 Flies, beetles and bees, wasps and ants (Diptera, Coleoptera and aculeate Hymenoptera)
- 28 Hemiptera
- 29 Grasshoppers, crickets and allied insects
- 30 Aerial insect biomass: trends from long-term monitoring
- 31 Other invertebrates
- 32 Land and freshwater molluscs
- 33 The seashore
- 34 The offshore waters
- 35 Plants
- 36 Conclusion: what is the likely future for the wildlife in Britain and Ireland?
- Glossary
- Name index
- Subject index
- Plate section
- References
Summary
Summary
Moths are a diverse group of insects (around 2500 species in Britain and Ireland) that make a significant contribution to our biodiversity. Despite being a species-rich group, the popularity of moth recording has made it feasible to assess rates of species colonisation and local extinction, conservation status and, for hundreds of macro-moth species, long-term population trends in Britain.
The moth fauna of Britain is constantly changing, with small numbers of species colonising the country or becoming extinct each decade. Set against this small turnover of species is the dramatic evidence of a severe decline in moth numbers, most notably in the south-east of Britain. The unique monitoring data available from the Rothamsted light-trap network show that the total number of moths captured nationally declined by almost a third between 1968 and 2002, although there was no overall decline evident in northern Britain. Two-thirds of the 337 individual species of common larger moth examined in detail had declined in abundance during that period. Over 20% of these common species have decreased so severely that they qualify as nationally threatened species under internationally recognised criteria. Such widespread declines are likely to have serious detrimental knock-on effects on other organisms and signal a wider biodiversity crisis.
Introduction
The significance of moths
Moths are one of the largest insect groups both in Britain and globally, and thus make up a significant part of our biodiversity. About 2500 species have been recorded in Britain and Ireland.
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- Silent SummerThe State of Wildlife in Britain and Ireland, pp. 448 - 470Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
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