Kildare Wildlife Watch: Is this a moth or a leaf I see before me?

My colleague came across a lovely native moth at the centre this week called the angle shades moth.

Did you know there are over 1,500 different species of moth in Ireland while we only have 35 different butterfly species!

The adult angle shades moth has recently emerged and you have plenty of time to try and observe it in your community. It is typically found on the wing from May to October each year.

Its habitat (the home of a plant or animal) includes gardens hedgerows, fens and woodland. It is also a night flying moth, so you may find it attracted to your outside porch light.

It is considered a medium sized moth with a wingspan between 42-50mm. The wings are decorated with distinctive pink and brown v-shaped markings and like many moths the angle shades moth folds its wings together when at rest.

This is the help the moth avoid predation as it camouflages itself like an autumn leaf. In autumn the adults lay their eggs on the food plant of the caterpillars, which include nettles, broad-leaved dock, bramble, hazel, birch and oak.

The caterpillars are green to brown with faint stripes on each segment. Over winter they feed and in spring they pupate beneath the soil before the first generation of adults in May.

The adults feed on grasses including the common reed. While the value of bumblebees and butterflies are often spoken and written about did you know moths are also important pollinators in our communities, particularly the night flying moths?

Moths actually have many values that they offer us including they are part of the food chain, we know a lot about their lifecycles so they can indicate to us changes in our local environmental quality and they offer so many community members enjoyment from observing and identifying them.

If you would like to learn more about the moths of Ireland you can visit Moths Ireland webpage www.mothsireland.com where you can get help identifying moths and submit your records to become a citizen scientist.

If you would like help identifying a wildlife observation in your community you can contact me on [email protected].

- Nuala Madigan, The Bog of Allen Nature Centre, Lullymore