DECIDE Moths 2022: What did we find?

In April 2022 NEYEDC embarked on a mission to recruit volunteers from across Yorkshire to record moths as part of the DECIDE Project.

DECIDE’s aim was to encourage ‘recording nature where it matters’, tackling the challenge of collecting high-resolution, high-coverage, good quality information on species distributions to support environmental decision making. When we consider the number of grid squares across the UK versus the number of people heading out to make biological records, it’s clear to see that we don’t have the human effort to cover every data gap.

What can we do to tackle this? The DECIDE team have used species distribution models, which take existing species distribution data and use it to project potential distribution, predicting areas where different species are likely to occur, even if we have no records from that area. Models are great tools to help overcome data gaps, but they need good data to underpin them.

To help provide guidance to recorders on the most valuable places to visit to gather this background data, the DECIDE team developed an innovative tool to map areas of high priority for recording. These aren’t simply areas where the lowest amount of recording takes place. Instead, high-priority areas area those where making new records would most improve the species distribution model outputs. Better models in turn mean more accurate projections of where species might occur, and in turn benefit the evidence base with which we make environmental decisions.

As part of our partnership in the DECIDE project, we armed over 20 beginner recorders with moth traps, training them to record and identify moths throughout Yorkshire. During the summer, we introduced our recorders to the DECIDE Tool and encouraged them to use it to choose high-priority areas to set their traps. Our aim was to gather feedback from our cohort for the DECIDE team on how new recorders responded to accessing and using the DECIDE Tool, whilst collecting valuable data at the same time.

What was the volunteer response?

In total, 62 sites were trapped over the course of the project, with 27 of these being high priority. The total number of sites includes those that our volunteers trapped at between April and July, where they had not been formally introduced to the DECIDE Tool and were mainly trapping in gardens and local green spaces to enable them to get to grips with moth-ing and start learning ID skills. Half of volunteers who submitted records trapped at at least one high priority site, and 77.8% of those who responded to our end-of-project survey said they would use the DECIDE Tool in future to inform their recording – the DECIDE Tool will continue to be available through 2023. Not every volunteer trapped at a high priority site, but this allowed us to gather feedback on a range of responses to the Tool and its accessibility for new recorders. 100% of recorders in the final survey said they would like to continue moth recording, either locally or further afield, and almost 90% said their skills and knowledge in biological recording and identifying moths had improved.

What did they find?

Our volunteers recorded 273 species between April – October, making 1,586 records of 3,173 individual moths! Our most commonly recorded moth was the Large Yellow Underwing – on two individual nights in August, two traps had 46 individuals each! Every Vice County saw trapping activity, but VC65 was by far the most represented, with over 700 records.

Just a small selection of the moths trapped. L-R from top: Peach Blossom, Gothic, Elephant Hawk-moth and Small Elephant Hawk-moth, Blood-vein, Buff-tip, and Obscure Wainscot.

Species varied from large hawk-moths including the Poplar Hawk-moth and Elephant Hawk-moth, to delicate geometrids such as the Blood-vein and Brimstone. Naturally we had our fair share of noctuids, the largest moth family, and we became familiar with the usual suspects including Uncertain, Common Rustic, Dark Arches, and Heart and Dart. We also had stunning specimens of some more unusual-looking species, including Buff Arches, Peach Blossom, Buff-tip, Chinese Character, Drinker, and more.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, some of these records were also new for their area! Grid squares NZ10 and NZ20, located near the village of Melsonby, saw new species recorded as a result of our volunteer efforts. In NZ10, seven new species were recorded: Brown-spot Pinion, September Thorn, Short-cloaked, Shears, Twin-spot Carpet, Eudonia angustea, and Pandemis corylana. Meanwhile, NZ20 saw three new species for the grid square: Scarce Footman, White Plume, and Bird-cherry Ermine. Whilst Yorkshire already has a strong history of moth recording and a dedicated and experienced recording community, this goes to show that there’s always more to discover and more to contribute – even if you’re a beginner! Most of these species were recorded in areas indicated as high-priority by the DECIDE Tool.

More excitingly still, one of our volunteers, Brian Hird, recorded a species that has been accepted as the first for VC65! Brian recorded the micro-moth Agonopterix propinquella (Black-spot Flat-body) on Jagger Lane, near Melsonby on the 9th August. After deliberation by moth experts to confirm the ID, they accepted his record as correct using a photo provided with the record. This is a rare local resident, with only approximately 42 records across the entirety of Yorkshire, Brian’s marking the first for the North-west Yorkshire Vice County. It is thought that this species has declined over recent years, making this record a historic first but also a great contribution towards our knowledge of its distribution. To find out more about this species, see the Yorkshire Moths website: https://yorkshiremoths.co.uk/micros.php?bf=6960.  Brian was directed to the trapping site for this moth using the DECIDE Tool!

Agonopterix propinquella (Black-spot Flat-body)

Whilst these new finds are an exciting result of the project, all records collected help in our understanding of moths in Yorkshire and beyond. Importantly, our volunteers’ experiences have also helped to shape the development of the DECIDE Tool and capture feedback from recorders who aren’t already a part of existing recording communities.

Thank you to all our volunteers for their time, effort, and enthusiasm across the course of the DECIDE Moths project. For more information about the DECIDE Project as a whole see their blog: https://decidenature.wordpress.com/2022/11/30/recording-where-it-matters/. The DECIDE Tool will continue to be available throughout 2023.