Moths of Dorset -  last updated on 24 August 2009 15:27         

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 Moth Group 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.

I am indebted to those recorders who originally supplied the photographs that are used in this resource.  They include Rees Cox, Paul Harris, Chris Manley and Steve Barrett.  My apologies in advance to anyone I might have missed out from this list." - Peter Davey, Jan 2009.