Recording moths

The Berkshire Moth Group plays an important role in encouraging the recording of moths in the county - all records of moths are welcome, and are used to help monitor changes in moth populations and to provide information for their conservation. Below is some information on getting involved with moth recording - if you already have some records find out how to send them in (our preferred route is via the iRecord system but other options are available).

Moth recording can be done in many ways, depending on how much time and experience you have. Some startign points are:

• Look out for day-flying moths such as Burnets and Cinnabars.

• Go out after dark with a torch and see what moths are on your garden flowers.

• Buy, make or borrow a moth trap and record the moths in your garden, and if you can do that on a regular, once-a-week basis you can join in the Garden Moth Scheme.

If you are just starting to record moths, you may find it useful to look at our Common moths through the year - an attempt to show the moths you are most likely to find in your moth-trap in order of when you will see them! See also the Moth Recorders Handbook, a free download from Butterfly Conservation's "Moths Count" project.

As you become more experienced you may be able to buy or borrow a generator so that you can start recording on nature reserves and elsewhere away from home. Or you may decide to focus on micro-moths and get in to rearing their larvae, which can allow you to find many species that do not come to moth traps.

When you send in records they are checked by the county recorder (Martin Harvey) before being added to the county moth database. Details of the verification process used to keep our records accurate are given here:

• Why records need verifying and how you can help

• Database procedure used for checking the records

Where is Berkshire?

That might seem like a daft question, but moth recording is organised around 'vice-county' boundaries, which are roughly equivalent to the county boundaries in use before 1974. This means that "Berkshire" includes much of what is now south-west Oxfordshire. For instance, these places are all in Berkshire for moth recording purposes:

• • Abingdon

  • Didcot

  • Faringdon

  • Wallingford

  • Wantage

On the other hand, Slough is in vice-county Buckinghamshire! Upper Thames Butterfly Conservation has some more information about vice-county boundaries, and if you need to check which vice-county you are in, or look up a grid reference, just go to 'Cucaera' and enter your postcode or address in the search box, and it will let you pick your location, zoom in to it and display the grid ref (at the top of the page) and the vice-county (in a box on the side).

More information

For more information about recording moths, see our Resources page, and also the Moths Count website. Or come to one of our meetings or events.