On Saturday, various groups in the West Midlands had got together to organise a Moth Count and a Bat Walk round Cannon Hill Park and the surrounding area. There was a magnificent turnout of about 50 people, including lots of ultra keen children, who were really excited by seeing the moths and bats.
Dave traps moths every Friday night in his back garden, or further afield, and studies them. He talked about the perceived differences between moths and butterflies: that people like butterflies because they are pretty, but don't like moths because they are brown and boring and come out at night. But apparently some butterflies are out at night and some moths are out during the day. Not all butterflies are bright, but some moths are colourful. Moths hide away in trees, bushes, and so on during the day to avoid predators (birds, bats etc). People think moths eat their clothes, but with the increased use of synthetic fibres, this is increasingly unlikely, and any moths you do find in your house might be quite rare. He encouraged us not to keep sheds ultra clean and tidy, and then we might find some moths living there.
It was an all-night event, although you could leave when you wanted, and unfortunately this time I was not able to stay late, but I am looking forward to hearing about future events.
A national expert on moths, Dave Grundy, began by talking to us about moths and butterflies and passing round moths to look at. There were some enormous ones (an old (dead) death's head hawk moth) and a tiny one, no bigger than a pinhead! There were moths that looked like twig ends and bits of bark. In the Victorian era, people pinned out all the butterflies and moths they found; now we trap and study them and release them back into the wild again. Many moths were named by well-off Victorians, who named them after things around them. Hence you have moths with names such as footman, carpet moth, tapestry, and pistol-case bearer moths.
A national expert on moths, Dave Grundy, began by talking to us about moths and butterflies and passing round moths to look at. There were some enormous ones (an old (dead) death's head hawk moth) and a tiny one, no bigger than a pinhead! There were moths that looked like twig ends and bits of bark. In the Victorian era, people pinned out all the butterflies and moths they found; now we trap and study them and release them back into the wild again. Many moths were named by well-off Victorians, who named them after things around them. Hence you have moths with names such as footman, carpet moth, tapestry, and pistol-case bearer moths.
Moths and butterflies are lepidoptera - the tera part meaning they have wings. The wings have scales on them. There are thousands of species of moths in the UK and around 60 species of butterfly. Basically, Dave tried to make us see that moths and butterflies are the same: there was no one characteristic that you could use to distinguish something as a moth and another as a butterfly.
Moth trapping and counting can give us a good idea of what species there are, and how many there are of them. Dave was going to set up the moth traps and then return to them later in the evening: he was going to be there literally all night. You too can study the moths in your own garden, and the more rural area you live in, the more you are likely to see. Moth traps have a light which attracts the moths; they fly in and then you can have a look at them, before releasing them again. You can also attract moths by leaving your bathroom light on and the window open and they will fly in. I asked Dave why moths are attracted to the light - he said, surprisingly, that scientists are not sure about the answer to this question. It could be something to do with moths navigating by using the moon!
To find out more about moths visit www.opalwestmidlands.org or http://ukmoths.org.uk
Garden moths scheme: http://gms.staffs-ecology.org.uk/
Garden moths scheme: http://gms.staffs-ecology.org.uk/
Big Butterfly Count http://bigbutterflycount.org/
Click here to see the results of the moth count! 193 sighted!
While Dave went to set up the moth traps, we heard from a member of BrumBats, the Birmingham and Black Country Bat Group. There are 4 species of bats in and around Cannon Hill, including pipistrelles, daubentons and noctules. One group live in the Holders Wood area. Bats can fly up to 20 miles in a night and fly along the rivers and canals, which provide a good source of food.
Bat Walk
While Dave went to set up the moth traps, we heard from a member of BrumBats, the Birmingham and Black Country Bat Group. There are 4 species of bats in and around Cannon Hill, including pipistrelles, daubentons and noctules. One group live in the Holders Wood area. Bats can fly up to 20 miles in a night and fly along the rivers and canals, which provide a good source of food.
The bat walkers were given bat detectors, which tune into the frequency of the bats as they give out ultrasonic sounds, which they use for echo location. Unfortunately I could not stay to go on the bat walk but will keep an eye on future events www.cannonhillpeoplespark.net as there are walks and talks throughout the year.
All bats are protected by UK and EU laws.
Did you know... pipistrelles can live up to 30 years!
Females usually have just one baby per year.
There are 17 species in the UK, with up to 8 in the West Midlands area.
www.brumbats.org.uk (follow on twitter) info@brumbats.org.uk
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