📣 New paper 🎉 Proud to have helped with this nice study by @wlangdon12.bsky.social showing a trade-off between nutritional quality & microclimate of host plants for Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas). Here in England, they choose warmth over nutrition resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Cornwall Butterfly Conservation Open Day Saturday 14th March 10am-4pm All welcome St Erme Community Centre, Castle Field, Trispen, Truro TR4 9BD - Free entry - Informative talks - Learn about our local butterflies - Wildlife stalls - Cakes and drinks - BYO lunch - Donations welcome
Cornwall Butterfly Conservation's Open Day is next week!
We have some great speakers lined up for the day including @richardfoxbc.bsky.social on climate change, Adrian Spalding discussing Sandhill Rustics & Lesley Strong talking about the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.
Hope to see you there!
Well yes I definitely wouldn’t expect that many species in my garden at this time of year! I had four species on Monday night. To see moths in abundance and variety at this time of year, you definitely need to be in the woods
Yes I was pleased. Good to catch the tail end of some of the very early species eg Pale Brindled Beauty & Spring Usher before they finish. But no Small Brindled Beauty, which is scarce down here and present at the site - probably too late as others have recorded it there over recent weeks
It didn’t seem that unusual to me - they were all normal species I’d expect at this time of year. In fact there were a few unexpected absences eg no pugs
Happy with 17 moth species in a few hours at Hembury Woods, Devon last night with 11 NFY. Water Carpet, Twin-spotted Quaker, Spring Usher & Dotted Border. #teammoth
Bad luck
🤞🏼
Good luck!
That’s great you’ve got some cloud - completely clear here
Thanks Tim. I’m in the woods so there’s some protection from the moonlight
Yes that moth FOMO is a killer! It’s meant to be about double that temp down here but it feels cold enough 🥶
Bad luck. I won’t be out much longer
First trip out with the moth traps this year. Already a few coming in. Who else is giving it a go this evening? #teammoth
Many thanks for these!
Still a bit early in the year for serious leafmine searching, but evergreen plants are always worth checking out: Evergreen Oak peppered with mines of Ectoedemia heringella Speckled Holm Oak Dot &
Phyllonorycter leucographella Firethorn Leaf Miner on Pyracantha #teammoth
My best moth of the year so far came to visit last night - Tawny Pinion. It’s only the second individual of this species I’ve ever seen! #teammoth
More moths! Two of the most abundant species of late winter/early spring put in an appearance in the garden last night - Common Quaker and Hebrew Character #teammoth
Wow! Luna moths are spectacular
Yay!! The moths are back! A brief interlude in 2026’s dreadful weather gave me the opportunity to run my garden moth trap for the first time in a month. This Early Thorn and Dark Chestnut were among the visitors #teammoth
Moths move significantly less when exposed to artificial nighttime light, new research from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter, Cornwall shows.
Read More: news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-e...
@uniexecec.bsky.social #ExeterEcology
Goldcrest was the unexpected highlight of my @rspb.bsky.social #BigGardenBirdwatch just now. Nice to see some Greenfinches and Starlings too. And a gang of 4 Magpies turned up right on cue #citizenscience
Great! Glad it is helpful
Read more about our recent publication on increasing inclusivity in biological recording #citizenscience with @sei.org @savebutterflies.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social @plantlifeuk.bsky.social @batconservation.bsky.social & others www.sei.org/publications...
I’ve seen them there before and was just walking past so thought I’d check the colony was still present
I think this is just because they currently have lapidella covered under their Luffia ferchaultella entry.
Yes it is a strategy used by other insects, notably aphids but also some bees and wasps etc. Also a few vertebrates
Two larval cases of the moth Luffia lapidella
(Ramshorn Bagworm) on a patch of lichen on a village wall today. Almost all UK populations of this species are parthengenetic, having only females which reproduce asexually #teammoth
Red Admiral butterfly basking on a leaf
It's happening! The first butterfly sightings of 2026 are in 🦋
The first Red Admiral in the UK was spotted on the wing in Swansea on 2 January.
Which species are you looking forward to seeing most this year?
📷: Iain H Leach
Moth trap and aurora in south Devon #teammoth
