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Dorset Moths |
                                             
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Moths of Dorset - last updated on 10 January 2012 08:03
"The long hoped-for aim,
namely to publish a complete single work comprising both micromoths and
macromoths and entitled the Moths of Dorset, has not yet been realized, as
many micromoth accounts remain unwritten. Often people ask me where they
may find information to help them assess the status of a given species in a
Dorset context; such a book would have provided them with that information.
So to short-circuit this
problem, I have decided to construct a cut-down version of the accounts that
were drafted in 2003. I have updated them with information received in the
interim and made them available on the Dorset Moths website with of
course, the help of our website manager, Terry Box. These accounts
relate to 716 macromoth species recorded in Dorset. As far as I am aware, this
constitutes the largest macromoth tally for any UK county; if so, this is
most likely a reflection of the ample diversity in geology, habitats and
flora, plus the county’s proximity to the near Continent that sources so
many spectacular immigrations. The next section to appear will be the
Pyralid species. This will be added piecemeal as it will contain in excess
of 180 species accounts.
I intend that this resource be as live as possible, for
example, if anybody has a better photograph or believes that the text would
benefit from additional information, then changes will be made once your
suggestions are approved. Similarly, the accounts will be updated as and
when new information becomes available. The species accounts are in
taxonomic order and often contain a phenology chart where there is
sufficient Dorset data, to assist the reader with gauging flight times. I
hope you find this resource helpful and educational, and that it provides
you with information that answers specific questions you might have from
time to time.
New
- For the first time, provisional maps for the larger moths of the
vice-county of Dorset are made available. These maps are based on the
dataset compiled and verified by Peter Davey and the Dorset Environment
Records Centre and is valid to the end of 2008. The maps may be read in
conjunction with the Moths of Dorset section of the website which also
covers the same temporal period, to the end of 2008.
The maps and flight graphs were created using MapMate (www.mapmate.co.uk). The following explains the attribute data:.
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