 I first became interested in moths 15 years ago when a friend introduced me to the rearing of foreign silk moths. Soon after this I had my first encounter with an Elephant Hawkmoth - a truly magnificent moth - and my interest rapidly transferred to the moths found in my local environment. To be able to study these moths you inevitably have to become nocturnal and venture out into the deep dark recesses of the British landscape. As this website will show, however, a fascinating range of moths can be found right outside your own back door in any town or rural garden. Basically, moths are attracted by three methods: pheromones released by other moths to attract a mate, lights, such as a lit window and food. It's intended for this website to show you how to attract and record moths using simple light and food based techniques.
Lepidoptera
 Moths, along with butterflies are insects and together they form part of the insect group called Lepidoptera. The translation of this name means scaly-winged. All Lepidoptera have two pairs of wings, which are covered in tiny overlapping scales that reflect light and create a fascinating range of colours. These scales distinguish them from all other types of insect. The wing colours have an important function. For day flying Lepidoptera, bright colours and markings can either act as a warning to deter potential predators or as a means of attracting and displaying to a mate. Others, and especially moths use their wing colours and patterns to help camouflage themselves against their surroundings protecting them during the day from the watchful eye of birds looking for an easy meal.
All insects have a pair of antennae used for sensing their environment. For butterflies, the antennae are usually long and thin with a club shaped tip. For moths they range from long thin hair like antenna to ridged or feathered.
The tightly curled tongue, or proboscis, is a unique feature of Lepidoptera. It is used for feeding on nectar from flowers or other sugary substances such as rotten fruit. On some moths the proboscis is very long. For instance, the Convolvulous Hawk-moth with a wingspan of approximately 100 millimeters, has a proboscis longer then the moth itself.
Macro Moths
There are two groups of moths - Micro moths and Macro moths. Micro moths form the majority of the species and are predominately small with wingspans of around a few millimetres. The study of these moths is a very specialized field and often requires dissection to be able to formally identify them. Macro moths, however, have much larger wingspans. For the larger hawkmoths (Sphingidae) wingspans can be in excess of one-hundred millimetres. In the UK there are over 800 species and in Northamptonshire the current species total is about 522.
The diagram on the left illustrates the general differences between moths and butterflies, although there are some exceptions.
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