The brand new moths of 2020

I have counted well over 300 species of moth in our garden this year(almost 9000 specimens), mostly at night, although there were one or two dayflyers (excluding butterflies, which are moths but are not usually listed as such). That is a small fraction of the total number of moth species listed in the British Isles which tallies at 2500 or thereabouts, 180,000 species of lepidoptera globally.
Of those 300 or so species about 30 were new to me having not ticked them in the garden before. Here’s a small selection starting with the rarest, the Clifden Nonpareil, a moth that was extinct in The British Isles by the middle of the twentieth century but is making a comeback.
Clifden Nonpareil
Figure of Eighty
Gypsy Moth
Pine Hawk-moth

Dark Crimson Underwing
The Lackey
Scarce Bordered Straw
The Wormwood
The Knot Grass
Varied Coronet
Clouded Brindle

Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - December 7, 2020 Category: Science Authors: David Bradley Tags: Lepidoptera Source Type: blogs