Moth MagicAn Introduction to

Mothsby

Dr. Roger C. KENDRICKC & R Wildlife, Hong Kong

founder:Asian Lepidoptera

Conservation Symposium

Introduction to Moths

• Diversity• Survival Strategies• Ecological Services• Role in Wildlife Conservation• Recording moths

Moth Diversity

• over 160,000 scientifically described species

• 150,000 to 200,000 thought to be awaiting description or discovery! (mostly in the tropics)

• many ecological niches and almost all terrestrial habitats occupied

• many species / higher taxa specially adapted to particular ecological niche, thus good indicators of habitat change, environmental impact or “quality”

Survival Strategies – Adult Moths

Mimicryplants & lichens: leaves, twigs, tree trunks, (colour and shape/posture) animals: mammal faces; snakes; unpalatable insects – spiders, wasps, bees, poisonous moths & butterflies; bird droppings

Survival Strategies – Adult MothsSound

detection of ultrasound to avoid bats; emitting sound to advertise unpalatability (Arctiinae) or pacify bees (Acherontia)

Colouruse of simple bold

bright patterns to advertise unpalatability

flash colours to surprise

Survival Strategies – Moth Larvae

Mimicryplants & lichens: leaves, twigs, tree trunks, (colour and shape/posture) animals: snakes; bird droppings

Survival Strategies – Moth Larvae

Concealmentcrypsis; leaf rolling; leaf mining; webs; stem borers; root feeders; nocturnal feeders

Colouruse of simple bold

bright patterns to advertise unpalatability

Ecological ServicesPollinationFood resourcesNutrient RecyclingPest control

Role of Moths in Wildlife Conservation

high biodiversity, high relative abundance and relative ease of identification make moths:1.a good group for monitoring effects

of ecological processes and factors that affect these processes

2.indicate habitats and landscapes likely to be of high conservation value

Role of Moths in Wildlife Conservation

good for “hands on” demonstration of ecological strategies and connecting with nature

Recording Moths

• Lights• Traps• Nets• Baits• Larvae

• Photography• Weather• Keeping

Records• Publishing

LightsMercury vapour (MV)Actinic (ultraviolet/UV)Light Emitting Diode (LED)Tungsten (Incandescent)Halogen

“Traps”Sheet – needs to be manned at all times. Good in the tropics Not good for abundance samples. Box – “Heath” and “Skinner” traps. Catch retention reasonable, but a long way from perfect.Bucket – “Robinson” trap most efficient design, but still well short of 100% catch retention. Large traps not very portable, smaller versions for use with actinic tubes more portable.

Other important methods• Rearing – essential to understand the

ecological role of each species. Takes time, manpower and lots of TLC. Will result in finding many species not recorded at light traps.

• Baiting – species specific pheromone traps, “sugar” or “mineral” or even other baits. Intensive effort, usually for only a limited number of species. Don’t always get the target audience!

• Netting – useful for diurnal and crepuscular species, also finding larvae (sweeping).

Photography

digital cameramacro functionclose focuscontrol of flashbest views to shoot for i.d.photo storage

WeatherLight trapping: avoid high wind & heavy rain; light rain / mist and warm conditions seem best; in HK night time min between 17°C and 28°C optimal; in UK between 8°C and ? (not warm enough) – in Singapore not much variation (so what happens if there’s a rise in temperature?)larval searching: avoid heavy rain (everything washed away!)sugar/bait/pheromone: calm weather bestSlide 16

Keeping Records• what was

recorded; • where

seen/collected;• when recorded;• who made the

observation;• who made the

id;• sight record,

voucher specimen (where kept), or photo;

• kept in notebook or on computer database;• submit data to

appropriate organisation(e.g. national or local nature society, biological records centre, global data centre - GBIF).

Publishing individual records of note or a species life history;summary of a single recording eventsite or area listschanges in species seen or phenology (long term data), distribution . . .

Why are moths magic ?

because . . . . Survival strategy:

colours; shapes; behaviour

Biodiversity: high species richness

Involvement: community and individual

Value: conservation, ecosystem and cultural

Acknowledgments:

AttendeesThank you

(Hong Kong)

Asian Lepidoptera Conservation SymposiaALCS3 - Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India, 2010;ALCS4 - Nankai University, Tianjin, China, 2012.

Moth Magic - Questions ?