Common Macro Moths

These pages show the commonest macro moths recorded in Yorkshire.  The photos are not intended to be used for identification purposes, but may be helpful in deciding where to start looking in your favourite moth book (eg 'Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland' by Waring, Townsend and Lewington).  Remember that many of the moths are quite variable in appearance, so don't just look for an exact match.

Click on any of the photos (on the page for a particular month) to see larger versions.  You will probably want to take a look at the UKMoths website and also the Yorkshire branch of Butterfly Conservation (see the 'Galleries' section) for photos of moths which are not shown here (and more photos of the ones which are).

If you have better photos of any of the moths on these pages, and are happy for them to be used here, then please email them to info@scarboroughwildlife.org.uk .  Remember that photos should show the main features used in identifying the moth and be of a 'standard' specimen rather than an unusual form (eg not a melanistic form) - it is also better if the moth is in it's 'natural' resting position.

If you intend to start recording the moths that you trap, it would be a good idea to join Butterfly Conservation and/or the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union (YNU) so that you will receive a copy of the annual 'Yorkshire Lepidoptera report' (this covers the moths and butterflies recorded across the county in the previous year).  You should send your records to the appropriate recorder (see Yorkshire Butterflies list of recorders for details), and the recommended (though not the only) way of doing this is to use the MapMate computer program.  A national moth recording scheme is being introduced through Moths Count and you might also like to think about contributing to the Garden Moth Scheme as well.

To find out what equipment is available (eg traps, bulbs, books etc) and how much it costs, try taking a look at the websites of Anglian Lepidopterist Supplies, Atropos or Bioquip.  Atropos also publish a journal which you might want to take a look at if your interest in moths develops into something a bit more serious - see our 'Atropos Index' page for details.

Many thanks to Charlie Fletcher and the Yorkshire Moth Group for putting together the lists in the first place, and for allowing them to be used here.

Page numbers are shown for the book 'Concise Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland' (by Waring, Townsend and Lewington) as 'Concise Guide: Pnnn', where 'nnn' is the page number in that book.  The text that says 'UKmoths webpage' is a link that will open the page on the UKmoths website for that particular species - click the link to view the page. The 'Distribution map' link opens the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) page for the species - note that the moth records seem very incomplete at the moment, but it is hoped that they will improve over time.

Click on the name of the month to view the page, although be aware that they contain quite a lot of photos and may take some time to download fully on a slow internet connection - 

  January

  February

  March

  April

  May

  June

  July

  August

  September

  October

  November

  December