Moth Magic provides an introduction to moths, discussing their diversity, survival strategies, ecological roles, and importance in wildlife conservation. Over 160,000 moth species have been scientifically described, with many more awaiting discovery, as moths occupy almost all terrestrial habitats. Both adult and larval moths employ various survival strategies, including mimicry of plants, animals, and sounds. Moths play key ecological roles such as pollination, providing food resources, and nutrient recycling. Their high diversity and abundance make moths well-suited for monitoring environmental impacts and identifying high-value conservation areas. The document outlines methods for recording moths, including using lights, traps, nets, baits, rearing larvae, photography, and

1. Moth Magic
An Introduction to Moths
by
Dr. Roger C. KENDRICK
C & R Wildlife, Hong Kong
founder:
Asian Lepidoptera
Conservation Symposium

2. Introduction to Moths
• Diversity
• Survival Strategies
• Ecological Services
• Role in Wildlife Conservation
• Recording moths

3. 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”

4. Survival Strategies – Adult Moths
Mimicry
plants & lichens:
leaves, twigs, tree trunks,
(colour and shape/posture)
animals:
mammal faces; snakes;
unpalatable insects –
spiders, wasps, bees,
poisonous moths &
butterflies;
bird droppings

5. Survival Strategies – Adult Moths
Sound
detection of ultrasound to
avoid bats;
emitting sound to advertise
unpalatability (Arctiinae) or
pacify bees (Acherontia)
Colour
use of simple bold bright
patterns to advertise
unpalatability
flash colours to surprise

6. Survival Strategies – Moth Larvae
Mimicry
plants & lichens: leaves,
twigs, tree trunks, (colour
and shape/posture)
animals:
snakes; bird droppings

7. Survival Strategies – Moth Larvae
Concealment
crypsis; leaf rolling; leaf
mining; webs; stem borers;
root feeders; nocturnal
feeders
Colour
use of simple bold bright
patterns to advertise
unpalatability

8. Ecological Services
Pollination
Food resources
Nutrient Recycling
Pest control

9. 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

10. Role of Moths in Wildlife
Conservation
good for “hands on” demonstration of ecological
strategies and connecting with nature

11. Recording Moths
• Lights
• Traps
• Nets
• Baits
• Larvae
• Photography
• Weather
• Keeping Records
• Publishing

12. Lights
Mercury vapour (MV)
Actinic (ultraviolet/UV)
Light Emitting Diode
(LED)
Tungsten
(Incandescent)
Halogen

13. “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.

14. 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).

15. Photography
digital camera
macro function
close focus
control of flash
best views to shoot for
i.d.
photo storage

16. Weather
Light 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 best
Slide 16

17. 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).

18. Publishing
individual records of
note or a species life
history;
summary of a single
recording event
site or area lists
changes in species seen
or phenology (long
term data), distribution
. . .

19. Why are moths magic ?
because . . . .
Survival strategy: colours;
shapes; behaviour
Biodiversity: high species
richness
Involvement: community
and individual
Value: conservation,
ecosystem and cultural

20. Acknowledgments:
Attendees
Thank you
(Hong Kong)
Asian Lepidoptera Conservation Symposia
ALCS3 - Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India, 2010;
ALCS4 - Nankai University, Tianjin, China, 2012.

21. Moth Magic - Questions ?