The unbelievable variety of moths in a Long Ashton garden

A lime hawk moth among the egg boxes of the moth trap

Six of us from the LANCE Trust Volunteer Group had a great start to May Bank Holiday Monday, gathering early in Lucy Fraser’s garden to check the results of the moth trap she’d set up the night before. Lucy is a painter of British wildlife and has won awards for her depictions of moths and butterflies. She works from real‑life observations and encounters, and moth‑trapping is a perfect way to get ‘up close and personal’ with these fascinating creatures. Fortified with coffee and croissants, we spent an hour or two learning about the moths that can be found in a Long Ashton garden.

A Wildlife Champion as our guide

As a recently appointed Wildlife Champion for Avon Wildlife Trust, working with moths and moth habitats in and around BS41, Lucy dedicates time to helping local groups understand and record the moths on our doorstep. For our group, Lucy’s passion for, and knowledge of, her subject really brought the moth‑trap morning to life as she guided us through identification of species. 

How moth traps work

Although it sounds potentially unfriendly, the trap doesn't harm the moths at all - the light simply draws them in, and they settle quietly in the bucket among the egg boxes until morning. They can stay or leave at any point. The trap is cool and gives them plenty of space, so they remain calm and unharmed, and once they’ve been identified they are carefully released back into the garden – an important part of responsible moth-trapping.  

Even before we opened the trap, we had a taste of what was to come, finding a pale tussock, the distinctive Chinese character, and a Brussels lace all resting on the balcony.

What we found

Inside the trap bucket, we logged quite a mix: a scarlet tiger moth, two willow beauties, two brimstones, a coronet, single‑dotted wave, riband wave, two small dusty waves, and a broken‑barred carpet.

The egg boxes inside the trap held even more variety, including a couple of showstoppers: a small elephant hawk‑moth, lime hawk‑moth, setaceous Hebrew character, peppered moth, three common marbled carpets, green carpet, red‑green carpet, knot grass, white ermine, foxglove pug, and at least seven hearts and darts. We also found five sleepy cockchafers and a scattering of micro‑moths.

It was fascinating not just to identify the different species, but also to see some of the moths getting themselves ready for flight. Even though it was already a warm morning (and would go on to become the hottest Bank Holiday in the UK yet), a few still needed to warm up. They did this by rapidly vibrating their wings – a behaviour known as shivering – to generate the heat and energy they need to power themselves into the air. It was a lovely thing to see up close.

Lucy also talked about how gardens rich in native plants, shrubs and trees tend to attract a greater diversity of moths. Many species rely on specific plants for their caterpillars, so a garden full of native vegetation becomes a haven for different species.

All in all, it was a totally absorbing morning and a reminder of just how much life is quietly moving through and busily pollinating our gardens each night, often unnoticed.

If you’d like to know what moths you’re sharing your patch of wild with, Lucy would be happy to set up a trap in your garden. Some of the group are already keen to do this, and we are also talking about setting up a moth trap in Keedwell Wildlife Garden and All Saints churchyard.