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Field Event: Sunday 1 June 2025 Langaford Farm | Posted: 17th Mar 2025 |
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| This is a joint event for Devon Moth Group and Devon Wildlife Trust, Bovey Tracey Local Group. Meet 09:45 for 10 am start. Booking essential – please email barryhenwood@gmail.com to book, please supply a contact phone number.
Car parking will be available at the top of the field – this will be signposted but the grid
reference for the field entrance is: SX 70328 84691 or What3Words: redouble.gathering.under
At 10 am the contents of moth traps set overnight will be revealed. Following this there will be a guided walk - this is a circular route of approx. 2km with plenty of time to stop and look (don’t forget your camera!). Attendees are welcome to bring a packed lunch.
The route is relatively flat, but the ground uneven and may be boggy in places – please wear
wellies or sturdy walking boots. Toilets, and handwashing facilities will be available at the barn.
Due to the sensitive wildlife on the farm, no dogs please (with the exception of assistance
dogs). This is a free event, but donations to the Langaford Farm Trust are welcome – suggested donation £5-10 per person.
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New meeting dates for your diaries. | Posted: 14th Mar 2025 |
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| Autumn Indoor Meeting - Thursday 30 October 2025,
AGM and Winter Indoor Meeting - Thursday 29 January 2026,
Spring Indoor Meeting - Thursday 26 March 2026
All meetings will be at 7.30pm at our usual venue - The Kenn Centre in Kennford.
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Thursday 27th March 19.30 at the Kenn Centre. Indoor meeting. | Posted: 14th Mar 2025 |
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| Our spring indoor meeting with guest speaker Dr Will Hawkes talking about "The most remarkable migrants - a moth and other insect migration story”
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Thursday 27th February 7.30pm. Online meeting. | Posted: 16th Feb 2025 |
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| You are very welcome to join us for our annual online meeting.
There will be two guest speakers, both talking about the impact of land-use on moths and both highly relevant to Devon:
Mimicking wild megaherbivore behaviour: Does regenerative grazing benefit moths? Rochelle Kennedy, Scotland’s Rural College
Moths and woodland expansion in the uplands. Patrick Cook, Butterfly Conservation
The Zoom access code is in the email sent to you on 15th February.
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Thursday 30 January 2025 19.30 Winter AGM and Indoor Meeting. | Posted: 9th Jan 2025 |
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| 19:30 at the Kenn Centre, Kennford. This will be a talk by Dr Rob Wolton about his new book "Hedges, a celebration of the ecology, biology and culturalhistory of the rich hedgerow heritage in the British Isles."
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Autumn Indoor Meeting on Thursday October 24th | Posted: 19th Oct 2024 |
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| Thursday 24 October 2024 Autumn Indoor Meeting at 19:30 at the Kenn Centre, Kennford. The speaker will be Dr Sarah Bunker, who will talk about The yellow-legged Asian hornet: is it here to stay? So far this year, there have been 17 Asian Hornet nests found in England and, last year, 72 nests were found in 56 locations (mostly in the south east). Is this insect now established in England? And if so, what does this mean for our native moths, insects and us?
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Code of Conduct (CoC) when mothing - pdf download | Posted: 6th May 2024 |
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| Protection of, and avoiding damage to, moth populations is an essential part of recording. A draft CoC document has been created which provides guidelines for best practice when moth-ing. A pdf can be downloaded from the 'Recording>Recording Moths' section oif this website.
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New Micro-moth and Macro-moth checklists | Posted: 6th May 2024 |
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| The latest check lists for Devon are now available as pdf downloads. They show 1084 micro and 668 macro species. They can be found under the 'Recording' dropdown at the top of this page.
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Indoor meeting - 7.30pm, 21st March 2024 | Posted: 10th Mar 2024 |
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| Peter Burgess, Director of Nature Recovery at Devon Wildlife Trust will speak on "Wilder Devon - projects DWT is delivering and developing to restore habitats and recover species populations across the county"
Indoor meetings take place at the Kenn Centre, Kennford, EX6 7UE, just off the A38 close to Exeter. If the weather is inclement, please check this website to see if the meeting is going ahead before you travel.
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Recording of online meeting now available to watch | Posted: 4th Mar 2024 |
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| The recording of Devon Moth Group's online Winter Meeting (held on Thursday 29 February 2024) is now available to watch.
The recording includes two talks by guest speakers:
The Jewel Box - how moth’s illuminate nature’s hidden rules by Professor Tim Blackburn, University College London
Kent’s Magnificent Moths Rebecca Levey, Butterfly Conservation
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Online Winter Meeting 29th February 2024 | Posted: 23rd Feb 2024 |
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| Thursday 29 February 2024 Winter online meeting. This meeting will only be online (on Zoom and will also be recorded). The programme will be:
- 19:30 Welcome by Richard Fox
- 19:35 The Jewel Box - how moth’s illuminate nature’s hidden rules Professor Tim Blackburn, University College London
- 20:15 Kent’s Magnificent Moths Rebecca Levey, Butterfly Conservation
- 21:00 Close
There is no need to register in advance – there are 100 places so should be plenty of space. The meeting will also be recorded so if you are unable to join on the night, you’ll be able to watch at your leisure.
Zoom meeting link and details are in the most recent February 2024 Newsletter.
You can view the recording of the meeting here.
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2023 records now available!! | Posted: 14th Feb 2024 |
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| There are 122,505 new verified moth records from 2023 and all of them have now been uploaded to this website and are available for you to view. Remember that there are two levels of detail available. The standard view is available to all with no charge. However, if you'd like to see the enhanced view with greater map resolution and a host of other features then please do subscribe to the Golden Cinnabar website membership. This is entirely separate from Devon Moth Group membership and all money raised goes directly to the web designers to help maintain and make enhancements to this and its sister sites in other counties.
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Thursday 25 January 2024 at 19.30 AGM and Winter Meeting | Posted: 15th Jan 2024 |
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| Dr Phil Sterling's talk will be entitled "No job too small: the fun and intrigue in studying micro-moths". Phil will be bringing along some copies of his new "Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland Field Guide, 2nd edition" to sell ; and he'll be happy to sign books that you've already bought so bring them along too!
Indoor meetings take place at the Kenn Centre, Kennford, EX6 7UE, just off the A38 close to Exeter. If the weather is inclement, please check this website to see if the meeting is going ahead before you travel.
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2024 Devon Moth Lookup Table | Posted: 9th Jan 2024 |
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| The Devon Moth Lookup Table (Lookup Table or DMLT for short) is a special spreadsheet to help people record their moth sightings. Its aims are:
- To simplify the process of entering data from moth sightings.
- To provide moth record data in the form needed by the county moth recorder.
- To check the moth’s name and correct it if necessary – for example it may have changed genus or there may be a spelling mistake.
- To allow moth name entry in various forms.
- To show Butterfly Conservation’s gradings for micromoths which indicate the ease of accurate identification and any proof required.
- To give other relevant information.
- A User Guide explains how the DMLT can be used.
Please see more details under Recording/Lookup Table
Devon Moth Lookup Table
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Please submit your 2023 moth records by 12th January 2024 | Posted: 9th Jan 2024 |
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| However many or few moths you’ve seen and recorded this year, widespread or rare, we want to know. Despite all of the exciting sightings listed above, many moth species are in decline and records are the lifeblood of efforts to conserve them. Please send all of your 2023 records (and any earlier ones that you’ve not previously submitted) to Barry Henwood (barryhenwood@gmail.com), Devon County Moth Recorder, by 12 January 2024. This will ensure that your records appear, after verification, in the DMG Annual Report for 2023. Any sent late will still be included in the database. Many thanks and all best wishes for Christmas and the New Year!
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Devon Moth Group turns 25! | Posted: 25th Jan 2022 |
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| Exactly 25 years ago today, the first ever meeting of Devon Moth Group took place at the Ley Arms in Kenn. 18 people were present, including many who remain leading lights in the Group and in moth (and butterfly) recording in the county to this day. By the end of the evening, the aims, ethos and first set of officials of Devon Moth Group had been decided and plans made to hold field meetings during the year.
Roy McCormick was elected the Group’s first Chairman and Treasurer, with Ashleigh Rosier elected as Secretary. Roy continues as Treasurer to this day!
Over the quarter century since its inception, Devon Moth Group has grown and thrived. It is now overseen by a committee of seven and has a membership of c.150 people. Along the way, we have amassed well over 1 million moth records in the Group’s database and made a massive contribution to improved knowledge about the county’s moths, as well as raising awareness and assisting conservation.
There will be a number of events throughout 2022 to mark Devon Moth Group’s silver jubilee and to celebrate the county’s magnificent moths and everyone interested in them.
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Maize Wainscots in Devon | Posted: 18th Sep 2021 |
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| A new macro-moth species for the county is always an exciting event, especially for the lucky person who finds it. But the Maize Wainscot (Sesamia nonagrioides) found in Chris Vincent’s moth trap in Plymouth on 7th September, was particularly special as this species, resident in south-west Europe and Africa, had never been seen before on mainland Britain. Indeed, the only previous sighting of Maize Wainscot anywhere in the British Isles was on St Agnes, Scilly, in 2011.
Amazingly, a second Maize Wainscot was caught at the other end of Devon on the following night. Sarah Patton, a Sussex moth recorder on holiday in Devon, caught one in Branscombe on the night of 8th September.
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Early arrival | Posted: 5th Apr 2021 |
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| Striped Hawk-moth (Hyles livornica) is an uncommon migrant moth in Devon, with 72 sightings on the Devon Moth Group database, the most recent from 2015. This visitor from warmer parts of continental Europe is usually seen here in the summer. However, the warm southerly winds that brought Saharan dust to our shores last week, also encouraged some early migrants northwards! Jayne Wraxall found and photographed this one on the side of the road at Exwick on 3 April.
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Watch our AGM and Winter Meeting | Posted: 20th Feb 2021 |
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| Our AGM and Winter Meeting was held online this year as a result of the ongoing coronavirus restrictions.
The meeting included a shortened version of our normal AGM proceedings, which was then followed by the main event, an entertaining talk by Dr Tom Prescott, Senior Conservation Officer with Butterfly Conservation Scotland. Tom presented the talk from his home in the Highlands on the subject of Burnets, Beauties and Glories – Conserving Scotland’s Rare and Threatened Moths. It was a fascinating and inspiring talk, with plenty of stunning moths and beautiful Scottish scenery.
You can watch a recording the whole meeting on You Tube
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Moth talks | Posted: 17th Nov 2020 |
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| If you are missing moths now that the nights have turned cold, here are a couple of talks about moths that you can watch in comfort.
The first is by Devon Moth Group committee member Phil Dean and is about the moths found in Devon’s meadows (as part of the Moor Meadows initiative).
Watch Moths of the Meadow on You Tube.
The other is by Douglas Boyes, a PhD student studying moths, and is a talk given to the Natural History Society of Northumbria about moth species that are doing well in the UK, bucking the general trend of wildlife decline. Watch Bucking the trend: why are some British moths on the rise? on You Tube.
Happy watching!
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The Moths of Dawlish Warren | Posted: 12th Nov 2020 |
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| Dawlish Warren is a well-known site in south Devon for many naturalists, with a national reputation and indeed international designations for some of its plants and birds. Other species groups however have not been overlooked with more than 4100 species recorded on site, including 668 moths. This latter total includes 47 Nationally Scarce species (recorded in fewer than 100 GB 10km squares).
For those that are unfamiliar with the Warren, the recording area is only 210ha in size so this is clearly an exceptional site, even more so when you consider terrestrial habitats only account for around 75ha. It is the diversity of habitats squeezed into a small space that delivers this abundance of life.
The south-west corner of the recording area is marked by Langstone Rock, a 15m high red sandstone headland with habitat very distinct from the Warren. Heading north-east, the base of the spit has largely suffered from tourism development and ‘hard-engineered’ sea defences and offers little special habitat for Lepidoptera, excepting the mines of Phyllocnistis xenia on the introduced White Poplars, but the abundance of Red Valerian does mean this is a favoured area for nectaring Humming-bird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum and Jersey Tiger Euplagia quadripunctaria.
The remainder of the spit is semi-natural. The depressed central area of the spit becomes flooded in winter, supporting willow-birch-alder scrub with ponds, small areas of flower rich dune slack and marshy grassland. The scrub held the first Devon colony of Cream-bordered Green Pea Earias clorana, whilst Puss Moth Cerura vinula caterpillars are regularly found and Lunar Hornet Moth Sesia bembeciformis and Red-tipped Clearwing Synanthedon formicaeformis have also been recorded. This area is also a good source of leafminers and case-bearers with scarcer species such as Stigmella prunetorum & Coleophora coracipennella on Blackthorn and C. binderella on Alder.
The ponds and associated reeds host a good selection of wainscots with Fen Arenostola phragmitidis, Obscure Leucania obsoleta and Twin-spot Lenisa geminipuncta notable and three species of China-mark also recorded.
The grasslands are often full of Six-spot Burnet Zygaena filipendula and Yellow Belle Aspitates ochrearia, with Prochoreutis myllerana, P. sehestediana and Red Sword-grass Xylena vetusta also present.
The majority of the Outer Warren is a mix of semi-fixed dune grassland and bramble scrub with a mobile dune ridge, with areas of embryo dune now largely restricted to Warren Point. It is these areas that hold most of the rarer species including Anerastia lotella and Bryotropha umbrosella both at their only VC3 location. Other range restricted species can often be numerous including Synaphe punctalis and Pediasia contaminella.
The fixed grassland on Warren Point holds the bulk of the site’s remaining populations of Cinnabar Tyria jacobaeae and Brown-tail Euproctis chrysorrhoea. Caterpillars of the latter species can appear in large numbers and often attach themselves to humans when searching for new areas to defoliate. This rather irritating habit led the Dawlish Warren Recording Group to sponsor this species in the recent national atlas!
The dunes hold specialised species such as Beautiful Gothic Leucochlaena oditis, Shore Wainscot Mythimna litoralis, Sand Dart Agrotis ripae, Archer’s Dart A. vestigialis and Crescent Dart A. trux, whilst areas of Pellitory-of-the-wall hold both Cosmopterix pulchrimella and Bloxworth Snout Hypena obsitalis. Stands of Prickly Saltwort on the foredunes host the only Devon population of Gymnancyla canella.
The Inner Warren (no public access) has been a golf course for over 100 years and historically has been stable, supporting fixed-dune grassland with strips of rare dune heathland. The estuarine side of the spit supports an area of saltmarsh and thereafter expanses of estuarine mudflats. The Golf Course roughs support a similar range of species noted above, as well as populations of Opostega salaciella and Aroga velocella, the latter at its only site in Devon. The saltmarsh also has a range of specialist species including Plain Pug Eupithecia simpliciata, Coleophora maritimella, Phalonidia affinitana and Ancylosis oblitella.
In addition to the wealth of resident species, Dawlish Warren is also well placed to receive migrants and in the right conditions large numbers of Plutella xylostella, Nomophila noctuella and Silver Y Autographa gamma can be flushed during the day. Other migrants such as Humming-bird Hawk-moth and Convolvulus Hawk-moth Agrius convolvuli, Small Marbled Eublemma parva and Tebenna micalis have been recorded breeding.
More infrequent migrants include Ni Moth Trichoplusia ni, Vestal Rhodometra sacraria, Scarce Bordered Straw Helicoverpa armigera and Striped Hawk-moth Hyles livornica, with rarer species still including Diasemiopsis ramburialis, Spurge Hawk-moth Hyles euphorbiae and Crimson Speckled Utetheisa pulchella. Other visitors may or may not have travelled as far with Scarce Merveille du Jour Moma alpium, Double Line Mythimna turca, White Satin Moth Leucoma salicis and Water Ermine Spilosoma urticae all recorded, along with the first Devon record of Rosy Wave Scopula emutaria and the third of Elegia similella.
Despite all this there is still much to discover on site with new species recorded every year. In 2019, these included Stigmella anomalella, Phyllonorycter messaniella, P. rajella, Zelotherses paleana, Acentria ephemerella and Muslin Moth Diaphora mendica all presumably overlooked residents. Even with the relative lack of trapping in 2020, six further species have been found, including Red-tipped Clearwing, Agonopterix ocellana and Pammene aurana.
Many thanks to all those who have submitted records and photos over the years. The full species list can be found on the Dawlish Warren Recording Group website. If anyone has Dawlish Warren photos of species to illustrate the website please get in touch via dawlish_warren@hotmail.com. Permission to run a light trap or pheromone lure on the Warren must first be sought from Teignbridge District Council or Dawlish Warren Golf Course.
Kevin Rylands, Dawlish Warren Recording Group
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First ever Blair's Wainscot in Devon | Posted: 8th Nov 2020 |
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| The highlight of this autumn’s immigrant moths was the first Blair’s Wainscot (Sedina buettneri) ever recorded in Devon. It was caught by Richard Cottle on the night of 20th October in his garden trap at Ide, near Exeter. Richard reported that, in the morning gloom, he nearly dismissed the moth as a small individual of the widespread species Large Wainscot (Rhizedra lutosa), but thought it didn’t look right and thankfully potted it to have a proper look.
Blair’s Wainscot is a rare species in Britain, restricted to several river systems in Dorset and probably also occurs on the Isle of Wight. In addition, it has occasionally been recorded on the coast of south-east England and such moths are presumed to have been immigrants from continental Europe. There was considerable immigrant moth activity this autumn, at the time of the Devon record, so it is assumed to be a visitor. However, there is a slight but tantilizing possibility that the species might be established somewhere in the upper Exe Estuary.
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Beautiful Marbled recorded in Exeter | Posted: 7th Jun 2020 |
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| A stunning and rare Beautiful Marbled moth (Eublemma purpurina) was recorded this week in a garden in Exwick, Exeter by Adrian Colston. This species is a scarce immigrant from continental Europe, with only around 50 ever recorded in Britain. The Exwick sighting is only the third ever in Devon, after one near Ottery St Mary in 2006 and the other near Chittlehampton in 2012. It is also a very early sighting, as the vast majority of previous British sightings have been made between August and October. Hopefully this is a good omen for a summer of exciting and beautiful moths!
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Annual report for 2019 published | Posted: 7th Apr 2020 |
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| The Devon Moth Group Annual Report for 2019 has been published and distributed to Group members. It summarises 80,000 moth records (c.17,000 for micro-moths and c.63,000 for macro-moths) for the county last year from 286 recorders. The records have been compiled and verified by the County Moth Recorder, Dr Barry Henwood, and his fantastic team: Phil Barden, Darryl Rush, Phil Dean, Kim Leaver and Bob Heckford. Four new micro-moth species were recorded in Devon during 2019: Ectoedemia heringella, Parectopa ononidis, Monochroa palustrellus and Cochylidia implicitana. In addition, the first modern day record of Small Ranunculus was made when the moth was spotted in a pedestrian subway in Exeter. All the records will be shared with the Devon Biodiversity Records Centre and the National Moth Recording Scheme run by Butterfly Conservation. Many thanks to all the recorders who submitted sightings of moths in Devon during 2019.
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