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Our gardens are full of moths. There are 896 different species in the UK and a further 1600 micro moths (usually much less than 20mm in width - marked *). Moths mainly fly at night, but some can be seen during the day.
They are very important pollinators with recent research finding that they are more effective than bees, butterflies etc. However their numbers are in drastic decline mainly as a result of habitat loss and the use of insecticides in agricultural processes. This year started well with a warm period that saw some European migrants reaching Derbyshire but since then the number of moths around has dropped sharply.
As well as pollinating, their caterpillars are an essential food source for birds. Gardeners can help support moths by growing a wide variety of plants, shrubs and trees to provide food and leaving them standing in the winter to provide refuge. The main food plants of the larvae are noted.
Using a home made moth trap, essentially a container with an ultra violet light and a funnel for the moths to fall into a layer of egg boxes, we noted the following in our garden before they were released, together with their [food plant].
This is probably a small selection of what different species that are probably out there but the total numbers have collapsed this year. The app Seek from Inaturalist is sometimes able to identify moth species.
May / June
May / June
Poplar hawk-moth
Laothoe populi
40mm
[Poplar and other trees]
Buff tip
Phalera bucephala
26mm
[Birch, acer]
Garden carpet
Xanthorhoe fluctuata
15mm
[Cruciferae]
Brown-veined wainscot
Archanara dissoluta 15mm
[Reeds]
Angle shades
Phlogophora meticulosa
25mm
[Many plants]
Foxglove pug*
Eupithecia pulchellata
12mm
[Foxglove]
Rustic shoulder-knot
Apamea sordens
18mm
[Grasses]
Large yellow underwing
Noctua pronuba
26mm
[Many plants]
Lime hawk-moth
Mimas tiliae
60mm
[Lime trees]
Alder kitten
Furcula bicuspi
30mm
[Alder and birch trees]
July
July
Purple thorn
Selenia tetralunaria
23mm
[Many common trees]
Little grey*
Eudonia lacustrata
15mm
[Mosses]
Four-spotted yellowneck*
Oegoconia quadripuncta
15mm
[Leaf litter]
Straw grass-veneer*
Agriphila straminella
18mm
[Grass]
Common rustic
Mesapamea secalis
21mm
[Grasses]
Grey chi
Antitype chi
19mm
[Many plants]
Peppered
Biston betularia
28mm
[Birch, oak etc.]
Brimstone
Opisthograptis luteolata
20mm
[Birch, apple, etc.]
Common footman*
Manulea lurideola
17mm
[Lichen]
Elephant hawk-moth
Deilephila elpenor
33mm
[Epilobium, fuschia]
Willow beauty
Peribatodes rhomboidaria
16mm
[Many trees and shrubs]
Dun-bar
Cosmia trapezina
16mm
[Many trees]
Light emerald
Campaea margaritata
29mm
[Mosses]
Large yellow underwing
Noctua pronuba
19mm
[Grasses and other plants]
Heath rustic
Xestia agathina
16mm
[Heather]
Scalloped oak
Crocallis elinguaria
16mm
[Many trees and shrubs]
True lover’s knot
Lycophotia porphyrea
15mm
[Heather]
White satin
Leucoma salicis
27mm
[Poplar, willow]
Bird cherry ermine
Yponomeuta evonymella
26mm
[Cherry]
Burnished brass
Diachrysia chrysitis
26mm
[Nettles]
Riband wave
Idaea aversata
16mm
[Bedstraw, dandelion]
August / September
August / September
Green-brindled crescent
Allophyes oxyacanthae
20mm
[Hawthorn, etc.]
Green carpet
Colostygia pectinataria
15mm
[Bedstraw]
Smokey wainscot
Mythimna impura
18mm
[Grasses]
Mint moth*
Pyrausta aurata
20mm
[Mint, calamintha, etc.]
Canary shouldered thorn
Ennomos alniaria
20mm
[Many trees]
Swallowtail moth
Ourapteryx sambucaria
30mm
[Ivy]
Copper underwing (right)
Amphipyra pyramidea
21mm
[Oak]
Buff ermine
Spilarctia luteum
22mm
[Many plants and trees]
Copper underwing
Amphipyra pyramidea
26mm
[Ash, privet, etc.]
Dusky thorn
Ennomos fuscantaria
23mm
[Ash]
Small dusty wave*
Idaea seriata
11mm
[Ivy and other plants]
V-pug
Chloroclystis v-ata
11mm
[Many plants]
Buff arches
Habrosyne pyritoides
20mm
[Bramble, etc.]
Marbled beauty
Bryophila domestica
15mm
[Lichens]
Willow beauty
Peribatodes rhomboidaria
24mm
[Hawthorn, ivy, etc.]
Dark arches
Apamea monoglypha
26mm
[Grasses]
Early thorn
Selenia dentaria
23mm
[Hawthorn, etc.]
Mother of pearl
Pleuroptya ruralis
40mm
[Nettles]
Shears
Hada plebeja
17mm
[Dandelion]
Small dotted buff
Photedes minima
14mm
[Grasses]
Common rustic
Mesapamea secalis
16mm
[Grasses]
Double square-spot
Xestia triangulum
19mm
[Wide range of plants]
Elbow-striped grass-veneer
Agriphila geniculea
20mm
[Grasses]
This page was updated 12 June 2026 with kind expert assistance from Derbyshire Moths.
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