Bat and Moth Survey Night - tonight

As we had the Great British Bird survey earlier in the year (results here), we now have a survey for two of the UK’s nocturnal groups – moths and bats, which hopefully will give the Conservation Trusts an idea about their plight. The public are being asked to “to hold their own night-time safari in the garden and report back their discoveries”.

It’s estimated that UK moth numbers have fallen by a third in the past 40 years and this poses a threat to the bats that feed on them as well as upsetting the biodiversity balance. Without a flourishing and diverse plant and animal environment, humans will deserve to reap the (unintended) consequences – hard, but so true, words.

"Chiroptera" (bats) from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur,1904

Bats and moths share a close relationship as predator and prey, evolving closely. Bats are able to navigate and hunt using a sophisticated sonar system called echolocation – uttering a series of rapid clicks which bounce off any objects in the air, enabling them either to avoid a collision or to catch their dinner!

Some moths are clever too and have developed simple hearing organs that can pick up on echolocation, allowing evasive action to be taken; whilst Tiger Moths (left) are able to emit loud clicks similar to echolocation calls, confusing the bats.

Do you think this sonar system could be adopted by a human being? ... well this video is quite amazing of a young lad, Ben Underwood, who can do extraordinary things by using echolocation himself, which was unheard of in humans. “See Without Eyes” on Ben Underwood, 14. You won’t believe it unless you look ... what else will humans do as they evolve ... ?!

All of the 17 species of bat found in the UK feed on moths, but the long-eared bat, two horseshoe bats, and Bechstein’s Bat (right) are particularly partial to them, forming a significant part of their diet. A large moth can be more than a mouthful, so the bat bends its tail forward and forms a ‘feeding bowl’ in which it holds its prey whilst it is being eaten.

Castles, steeples, old barns, cellars, caves and attics of houses are wonderful day-time roosting places, where they are ready to emerge at night to hunt for their insect prey.

I have to say that there are fewer moths around, I remember growing up and seeing quite large numbers of them – and occasionally we created a moth trap in the light to look more closely at them. I was about to write about South African moths – as the insect book I found refers to Southern Africa .. no more .. back to British!

More than 2,500 species of moth have been recorded in Britain, many have a wide diversity of bright colours to warn away predators and cryptic camouflage to avoid predation. Moths are essential for bats, but just as important for pollinating plants and as a source of food for most garden birds.

The Garden Tiger Moth (small picture above) already mentioned .. is a brilliantly pretty nocturnal moth .. and is believed to have declined by 89% in the last 30 years. They love damp places, which is why they are to be found in river valleys, gardens and parks, but are usually seen around a source of light.

Poplar Hawk-Moths feed on poplar trees and other plant hosts such as aspen; but as with other moths a variety of trees are utilised depending on location, with the moth quite often being called after the tree species: viz. ‘Bird-Cherry-Ermine’, Scalloped Oak, or aptly named for their look ... ‘Plume’, ‘Light Emerald’, Green Silver-Lines’, ‘Pale-Tussock’, ‘Orange Swift’ ... and can be seen here.

The Feathered Thorn moth is an autumn-flying moth, which as you can see blends extremely well with autumn leaves. The one depicted here is a male clearly showing the large feathered antennae from which gets its common name. This picture is particularly fine – as you can see one of the major differences between butterflies and moths .. the feathers .. are found on moths; butterflies’ antenna end in a small knob.

Bats and moths are under pressure from similar changes in our countryside, and the declining numbers of insects is inevitably going to impact on the bat populations which feed on them. These changes are largely due to habitat loss – the urbanisation of this little country – so the Bat Conservation Trust together with the Butterfly and Moth Conservation Organisation are providing an essential role in the recording of these species and their habitats.

Bird Cherry Ermine post: 12 June 2009

Minnie Mouse, Pomeranians, Bats and travel post: 21 May 2009

Dear Mr Postman – all well here .. it just might be getting warmer .. and my mother is sleeping lots more, but was pleased to see me before she drifted off again.

Hilary Melton-Butcher
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