400 butterfly, moth, species on Scottish nature reserve

From Wildlife Extra:

400 species of butterflies and moths recorded on Scottish nature reserve

23/05/2009 11:44:30

St Cyrus aflutter with butterflies and moths

May 2009. A newly published checklist enables moth and butterfly enthusiasts in the North east of Scotland to enjoy an amazing 400 different species in one place at St Cyrus National Nature Reserve. The Checklist of the Lepidoptera of St Cyrus NNR brings together records and sightings of some of Scotland’s rarest and most colourful species found in the area going back thirty years. …

Checklist compiler Brian Stewart said “Some of the species recorded are rare, such as the small blue butterfly which feeds on the yellow flowered kidney vetch plant that grows on the Reserve. The list also includes the only known record of the micro moth Lobesia abscisana on the Scottish mainland – discovered by Dr Mark Young and myself during a moth night event held at the Reserve in 2007.” …

St Cyrus NNR is also home to over 65 different species of breeding birds and 244 species of flowering plants. Many of the plants are rare or at their northern limit in the UK, and it’s this great diversity of plant life, coupled with the sheltered aspect of the Reserve that encourages such a rich insect life.

Dark bordered beauty moth & Pine hoverfly to be reintroduced into Scotland: here.

USA: IT HAD SEEMED a lovely idea: to sit beneath graceful palms on a tiny island and feel the presence of the endangered Miami blue butterfly, “one of the rarest living things on Earth,” according to one news report: here.

Attracting butterflies to gardens: here.

Moths in the Netherlands: here.

Singapore moths: here.

Hoverflies in autumn: here.

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