³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

In order to see this content you need to have both enabled and installed. Visit for full instructions

Moths

Last updated: 07 April 2008

Wales is home to four species of moth - Ashworth's Rustic, Weaver's Wave, Rosy Marsh moth and the Silurian - which are not found anywhere else in Britain.

In 1999 the government launched an ongoing National Action Campaign to safeguard important Welsh habitats for butterflies and moths and prevent any more species from joining the 13 that went extinct in the 20th century.

There are a number of ways to help distinguish between a butterfly and a moth, but as always, there are exceptions to every rule.

Moths tend to be nocturnal, but there are some species which fly in the day, and equally, some butterflies which have been known to fly at night.

Moths generally have feathery antennae, whereas butterflies have knobs at the end of theirs

With nearly 2,500 species of moths in Britain, and between 1,500 and 2,000 of those in Wales, it's not surprising that they are so varied. Moths are found wherever they can find appropriate food.

Some require particular plants, but others will eat fungi, animal litter found in bird, mammal and insect nests, and even dung.


Bookmark this page:

Try one of the walks from Derek's latest walking series on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One Wales.

Wildlife

Toads by Brian Stone

In your garden

Find out about the wildlife you can find on your doorstep.

A fin whale

Wildlife photos

A gallery featuring rare and unusual wildlife sightings in Wales.

Wildlife map of Wales

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales Nature map

Explore Wales

Zoom in and discover wildlife in your area with our interactive map.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ navigation

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Â© 2014 The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.