Hoopoe – A blog by nhbs – Page 42 – The NHBS Conservation Hub

June Top 10

NHBS’s Top 10 bestsellers June 2021

We love looking back at our bestsellers from the month before, and are very excited to share our new monthly update featuring NHBS’s Top 10 for June.

This month, highlights include the latest addition to the New Naturalist series, Ecology and Natural History, as well as Insectinside, as recently featured on BBC’s SpringWatch.

secrets of a devon wood: my nature journal | jo brown
Hardback | October 2020

In top place and one of NHBS’s bestselling books to-date, Secrets of a Devon Wood has captured hearts and minds across the globe. Artist and illustrator Jo Brown started keeping her nature diary in a bid to document the small wonders of the wood behind her home in Devon. This book is an exact replica of her original black Moleskin journal, a rich illustrated memory of Jo’s discoveries in the order in which she found them.

Jo very kindly agreed to answer some of our questions for a Q&A. Read the full interview here.

Ecology and Natural history | David wilkinson
Hardback | June 2021

In second place – the latest addition to the New Naturalist Series, Ecology and Natural History.

Ecology is the science of ecosystems, of habitats, of our world and its future. In the latest New Naturalist, ecologist David M. Wilkinson explains key ideas of this crucial branch of science, using Britain’s ecosystems to illustrate each point.

We have a limited number of signed bookplates for the hardback edition, available while stocks last

Insectinside: life in the bushes of a small peckham park | penny metal
Paperback | October 2017

As recently featured on BBC’s Springwatch, Insectinside is a fantastic book featuring hundreds of species of insect that have all been found in Warwick Gardens in Peckham by author, Penny Metal.

With Penny’s incredible photographs and often humorous social commentary, Insectinside is an inspiring look at the diversity you can find just beyond your doorstep, as well as the vital importance of our natural spaces.

We caught up with Penny to ask her some questions about her book – read the full interview here.

Britain’s insects: Field guide to the insects of great britain and irelanD | Paul brock
Flexibound | May 2021

Britain’s Insects is an innovative, up-to-date, carefully designed and beautifully illustrated field guide to Britain and Ireland’s twenty-five insect orders, concentrating on popular groups and species that can be identified in the field. Featuring superb photographs of live insects, Britain’s Insects covers the key aspects of identification and provides information on status, distribution, seasonality, habitat, food plants and behaviour.

the wild flower key: how to identify wild flowers, trees and shrubs in britain and ireland | francis rose, et al.
Paperback | December 2006

Revised and expanded edition of this essential guide with full keys to more than 1600 wild plants found in Britain and Ireland.

This edition of The Wild Flower Key is packed with extra identification tips, innovative features designed to assist beginners and many more illustrations.

Great british marine animals | paul naylor
Paperback | June 2021

With 500 new photographs, the 4th edition is by far the largest revision of Great British Marine Animals to date and see the number of pages increase from 320 to 432, while the fourth edition features 930 colour photos, versus 600 previously. This book is an eye-opening celebration of the wonderful diversity of animals that live in British seas, and the colourful and fascinating ways they go about their lives.

a field guide to grasses, sedges, and rushes | dominic price
Spiralbound | April 2016

A Field Guide to the Grasses, Sedges and Rushes aims to simplify the identification of this fascinating group of plants, using characters that are both easy to spot in the field and simple to remember. Over 100 species are described, focussing on key features of both their genus and species.

Read our interview with Dominic Price here.

grasses: A Guide to identification using vegetative characters | Hilary wallacePaperback | April 2021

Developed by highly experienced field botanist and habitat surveyor Hilary Wallace, this groundbreaking guide uses vegetative characters to all the grass species found in the UK.

This Grasses guide is part of the FSC’s AIDGAP series (Aids to Identification in Difficult Groups of Animals and Plants).

FSC are our current Publisher of the Month! Read our blog here about FSC and the fantastic series’ they produce.

britain’s mammals: a field guide to the mammals of great britain and ireland | Dominic Couzens, et al.
Flexibound | June 2021

Britain’s Mammals is a comprehensive and beautifully designed photographic field guide to all the mammals recorded in the wild in Great Britain and Ireland in recent times – including marine mammals, bats and introduced species that have bred.

The updated edition features minor amendments to the 2017 version.

flight identification of european passerines and select landbirds: an illustrated and photographic guide | tomasz cofta
Flexibound | March 2021

A ground-breaking guide with numerous features. Aimed at identifying European passerines in flight, this book provides Tomasz Cofta’s illustrations with photos, species descriptions, flight call descriptions and sonograms, and supplementary audio recordings online.

Author Interview with Jo Brown: Secrets of a Devon Wood

One of NHBS’s bestselling books to date, Secrets of a Devon Wood has captivated people across the globe. An exact replica of Jo Brown’s original Moleskine journal, each page features extraordinary illustrations of species such as the buff-tailed bumblebee, blue tit, red campion and oyster mushroom, and are accompanied by detailed observations and notes regarding physiology and life history. Inspiring for naturalists and budding artists alike, this book will be one to treasure.

Jo Brown is a professional illustrator and a blogging sensation. She graduated from Falmouth College of Arts in 2000 with a BA Honours in Illustration and works from her home studio in Teignmouth. She has very kindly answered some of our questions below.

Firstly, could you tell us about your background and how your interest in the natural world began?

I’ve been interested in nature from a very young age and have many early memories of my mum taking me into the garden to show me woodlice, spiders and butterflies. I always knew I was going to be an artist, because it was the only thing I ever really wanted to do. I first explored art at school and had a great relationship with my art teacher. Later, when I left university in Falmouth, I freelanced and took on design jobs and commissions, though often creating content that didn’t speak to me. Nature and art together came much later when I felt able to produce artwork for myself.

We all absolutely love your book and the original way it’s been produced. When you first started your sketchbook, did you anticipate having it published at the end?

No! I wasn’t even thinking about publishing – the journal was a personal project. I realised very early on that when I draw and document things, I remember them. I remember things like Rumex Obtusifolius (the Latin name for Doc Leaf) – it’s been a wonderful learning tool and almost everything I’ve learned about nature, I’ve learned entirely on my own through observation, supported by research.

After putting up a flick-through video of the journal on YouTube in 2019, my followers jumped from 9 thousand, to 20 thousand overnight. This was incredibly overwhelming for someone who is a bit of a recluse and spends a lot of time on their own. I was approached by several publishers and agents from the UK and US, and came out of the other side with an agent, Clare Wallace, and a publishing deal with Short Books. It was genuine recognition of my work and a wonderful moment. Short books allowed me complete creative control and wanted to publish my journal as it was without any changes.

The response to your book has been phenomenal and people all over the world have been inspired by your artwork. What advice would you give to any new, budding artists?

I would say to begin with, if you find or see something that inspires you, whatever it may be – satisfy yourself first. Don’t draw for anyone else – as long as you’re happy with the work that you’re doing and you’re improving your own skillset and artistic evolution; it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks. It’s not about what’s popular, or to gain recognition or approval – the only approval you need is your own. As long as you put your passion into whatever you’re interested in, nothing else really matters. It’s an absolutely flooded market, but try to find your own way in and fulfil your own needs. Building your own style takes years.

It’s always wonderful to see a combined passion and talent for both art and science, as they are often seen as very separate entities. How do you think art can be better used to encourage environmental awareness?

As people’s attention span seems to have naturally decreased in the age of social media, I try to use my art to stop people scrolling for a minute. If you can hold someone’s attention with an image, you then have a chance to offer up some relevant information in the words beneath – a chance to promote conservation and environmental awareness.

Did you face any challenges while putting together Secrets of a Devon Wood?

Finishing the book under a national lockdown was incredibly pressured. It was very difficult to feel inspired during such a tremendously hard time. In the middle of the first lockdown, I was coming up to the end of the book and the deadline was looming. If it was up to me, I’d have produced 200-300 more pages, but I had to be realistic. After a month extension, and after weeks of sweat and worry, I completed the last 9-10 pages – half of the book was completed in my own garden because of being in lockdown. The most challenging part of producing the book was getting the work on pages.

We’ve heard exciting rumours of a second nature journal – is this something you’re currently working on? What is your focus this time and when might we expect this to be published?

Yes, though the first book took 2 years to create. I have no deadline for the 2^nd Nature Journal, and I have experienced terrible creative block in the third lockdown. When you’re an artist, you need peace and little stress to be in the zone. The 2^nd Nature Journal will be water-based, focusing on species within 3 miles of the coast. Journalling will be an ongoing project for me, even if it isn’t published; I’ll never run out of subject matter! I will also be involved in other books and be selling my artwork online.

Secrets of a Devon Wood
By: Jo Brown
Hardback | Published October 2020

British Wildlife book reviews

British Wildlife has featured book reviews since the very first magazine back in 1989. These reviews provide in-depth critiques of the most important new titles in natural history publishing, from nature-writing bestsellers to technical identification handbooks. They are all authored by experts in relevant subjects, which ensures an honest and insightful appraisal of each book featured.

It can be helpful to read a review before deciding to buy a new book, and so since 2018 every review included in the magazine is available to read on the British Wildlife website. Here is a selection of books that have featured so far in the current volume of British Wildlife, all with links to take you directly to the full review.

1. Woodland Flowers by Keith Kirby

“In Woodland Flowers Keith Kirby invites us to look at the ‘wood beneath the trees’ and to consider what its flora can tell us. The focus of this, the eighth volume of Bloomsbury’s British Wildlife Collection (which I have contributed to myself), is on the vascular plants of the woodland floor; to this end Kirby embraces ferns as honorary flowers, but for the most part he steps aside from considering other elements of woodland ecosystems (including the ‘lower’ plants, fungi and fauna).”

Reviewed by Clive Chatters in the October 2020 issue (BW 32.1) – read the review here

2. Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

“This is Sheldrake’s first book, and, while his expertise means that the readers should feel that they are in safe hands from the off, in truth the experience is more like being whisked down a burrow by a white rabbit, or on a tour of Willy Wonka’s research facility: a trippy, astonishing, and completely exhilarating ride.”

Reviewed by Amy-Jane Beer in the November 2020 issue (BW 32.2) – read the review here

3. His Imperial Majesty: A Natural History of the Purple Emperor by Matthew Oates

“Part autecology, part monograph and part impassioned love poem to a species that has captured the author’s heart, the pages offer an enjoyable blend of the Purple Emperor’s recorded history, biology, ecology and conservation.”

Reviewed by Simon Breeze in the December 2020 issue (BW 32.3) – read the review here

4. Britain’s Habitats: A Field Guide to the Wildlife Habitats of Great Britain and Ireland (second edition) by Sophie Lake, Durwyn Liley, Robert Still and Andy Swash

“But do we really need a field guide to habitats? Possibly not. I certainly will not be taking my copy into the field. Yet this perhaps misses the point. What this book does is remind the users of other field guides that their organisms of interest do not live in isolation – they are nothing without their habitats. So, make this book an essential companion to your species guides.”

Reviewed by Anthony Robinson in the February 2021 issue (BW 32.4) – read the review here

5. Beetles of Britain and Ireland. Volume 3: Geotrupidae to Scraptiidae by Andrew G. Duff

“Anyone interested in identifying and studying beetles simply cannot afford to be without [these books] and any quibbles can only be minor. Andrew cannot be too highly commended for his diligence and hard work to make so much information available to all.”

Reviewed by Richard Wright in the April 2021 issue (BW 32.5) – read the review here

6. The Bumblebee Book: A Guide to Britain & Ireland’s Bumblebees by Nick Owen

“This is the latest book to enter the now relatively crowded marketplace of bumblebee guides, which may leave one wondering what it can offer to the more seasoned hymenopterist – read on! The author’s intention is to provide a book at the ‘entry level’ of bee study, Owens stating from the outset that he ‘aims to provide an easily accessible introduction for those with little or no previous knowledge of bumblebees’.”

Reviewed by Adrian Knowles in the April 2021 issue (BW 32.5) – read the review here

7. Bringing Back the Beaver: The Story of One Man’s Quest to Rewild Britain’s Waterways by Derek Gow

“There is no better place from which to view the tragi-comic events which unfold, and no better person to describe it than Derek Gow, a man of action as well as a powerful Beaver advocate. This account is unexpected, oddball, and, despite its serious side, enormously entertaining.”

Reviewed by James Robertson in the May 2021 issue (BW 32.6) – read the review here

8. Heathland by Clive Chatters

“He has written an ecological masterpiece, generous in its sympathies, awe-inspiring in its breadth of knowledge, and genuinely enticing in its journey around heathland Britain. This is a book that ought to influence policy.”

Reviewed by Peter Marren in the May 2021 issue (BW 32.6) – read the review here

Since its launch in 1989, British Wildlife has established its position as the leading natural history magazine in the UK, providing essential reading for both enthusiasts and professional naturalists and wildlife conservationists. Individual back issues of the magazine are available to buy through the NHBS website, while annual subscriptions start from just £35 – sign up online here.

FSC: Publisher of the Month for July

Since first featuring as NHBS’ Publisher of the Month over three years ago, the Field Studies Council have added even more excellent titles to their catalogue of publications.

We asked Head of Publications, Dr Rebecca Farley-Brown what hopes and plans the FSC has for the next five years?

‘Plans for next 5 years – more guides in more places. We want to expand the range to help more people get engaged with nature – from simple family guides through to specialist books’.

The Field Studies Council (FSC) is the NHBS Publisher of the Month for July.

The FSC publish six diverse, thoroughly researched and constantly expanding series’, these include: Royal Entomological Society Handbooks, AIDGAP Guides, Fold-out Identification Charts and Chart Packs, Synopses of the British Fauna and Biological Records Centre Atlases.

Fold-Out Identification Charts

The FSC’s range of identification charts are designed to assist nature enthusiasts with identifying and naming the fauna and flora they find. The first fold-out identification chart, The Woodland Name Trail was produced in 1994 and, since then, these guides have become the FSC’s best-selling publications.

AIDGAP guides

In 1976 The ‘AIDGAP’ (Aids to Identification in Difficult Groups of Animals and Plants) project was started, with the aim of producing user-friendly and reliable field guides which would make identification achievable for those with little taxonomic training.

2020/2021 has been busy for AIDGAP, with new guides to Vegetative grasses, Sphagnum mosses and Freshwater Snails all being published.

RES Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects

In 2004 the FSC started working with the Royal Entomological Society to publish their Handbook series. The aim of these handbooks is to provide illustrated identification keys to the insects of Britain, together with concise morphological, biological and distributional information. These comprehensive books are primarily aimed at experienced users.

BRC Atlases

The FSC also publishes Atlases on behalf of the Biological Records Centre (part of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology). Suitable for more experienced users, these atlases map the distribution of records within Great Britain and Ireland for named groups of animals.

Synopses of the British Fauna

In 1991 the FSC formed a partnership with the Linnean Society of London to publish their Synopses of the British Fauna series. The first Synopses FSC published was Woodlice (now out of print) and since then, over 60 additional volumes have been published.

A busy publishing year for the Field Studies Council

The FSC has been publishing environmental titles for over 40 years and 2020/2021 have been busy publishing years, especially for AIDGAP, with new guides: Grasses, Freshwater Snails of Britain and Ireland and Sphagnum Mosses.

A Blowflies Handbook has also been published for the Royal Entomological Society and an atlas with identification keys for the Histeridae, Sphaeritidae and Silphidae beetles for the Biological Records Centre.

New foldout guides for Moorland Wildlife of the North York Moors and Features of the Gwent Levels were published early in 2021, with guides to seaside plants and woodlands planned for later this summer.

Browse all FSC titles at NHBS

Beaver Trust: Q&A with Eva Bishop

Eva Bishop, Communications Director for Beaver Trust, recently took the time to talk to us about the important work the charity is doing to help communities welcome beavers back to Britain.

In this thought-provoking conversation, we discuss some of Beaver Trust’s upcoming projects, how the Covid pandemic has affected them as a charity, and share different ways to get involved in beaver conservation within Britain.

1. Firstly, can you tell our readers a bit about the Beaver Trust and its main aims?

Our overall mission is to restore Britain’s rivers and wildlife with beavers. We were not in fact established as a single species charity, but as a small crew wanting to build climate resilience for people and wildlife – yet we see the potential for rapid and restorative action that beavers offer. If you take a look at a map of British waterways it depicts an expansive system of veins carrying the lifeblood of the country. Then imagine huge swathes of that being given greater space for nature, becoming living wetlands and water storage systems rather than drained, polluted, straightened ditches. Beavers are our ally here so we are working collaboratively with a range of organisations and of course landowners to support their return.

Beaver Trust’s core work involves convening real conversations in order to make good decisions on national beaver policy and a supporting management framework, finding engaging ways to achieve outreach and education on learning to co-exist with beavers again, and of course supporting many beaver projects on the ground. Our national aim must be to move beyond enclosed projects wherever possible so that beavers can once again become part of native wildlife fauna and work across whole catchments to reinstate biodiversity and healthy ecosystem function.

2. There is a lot of contention between some landowners and conservationists around the subject of beavers, particularly when it comes to reintroductions. Do you find that misinformation and prejudice are significant challenges in the case of this species?

Where misinformation and prejudice exist it’s always unhelpful. However, I think the existence of conflict can be overplayed with beavers and our experience has been one largely of cooperation and collaboration.

Beavers and their impacts aren’t always beneficial to the surrounding land use, we’re very clear about that. Where contention does arise it can often be overcome through better information and knowledge. Well practiced management techniques are being successfully used across Britain, with the right experience and resources there is no reason for these not to become second nature like tree protection against deer for example. Beavers are reestablishing already, but we have an opportunity to target areas for new wild releases that are less likely to cause conflict and instead achieve greater benefits for society and wildlife. That’s something we are collectively all working towards, to minimise conflict.

There is always room for misinformation – hence our core strand of work around communications and education – and there is still work to be done engaging a broad audience in key conversations around beavers (such as farming, angling, flood-banks and the appropriate use of lethal control), ensuring broad diversity in all conversations and that everyone is heard. There is a lot of good research available on the impacts and effects of beaver reintroduction across Europe, not to mention the research within Britain as well. Management is also well-established and now requires government resources to expand nationally alongside training and communications, so that we can offer a swift response to any anticipated, perceived or felt issue.

Prejudice is harder to tackle, as is human nature’s aversion to change, but we always aim to put forward a transparent view of beaver impacts including challenges and invite inclusive debate across our work. But as I said, Beaver Trust’s experience in England to date has been a pretty positive one with the landowning and farming community.

North American beaver on lodge by Ben Goldfarb

3. A core component of your work moving forward is set to focus on river buffer zones – allowing nature to recover and regenerate around river banks. Can you tell us more about this?

Yes, and it links directly to the previous question. If we want beavers to achieve all the good flood and drought mitigation, water filtering and biodiverse habitat restoration we anticipate, they will need space to operate. Their dams and canals can revert streams and smaller rivers into meandering wetlands, however, depending on the location this could quickly cause issues. In a sense, we need to make our rivers fit for beavers (and all other life that should exist there), without placing further burden on farmers trying to do the right thing and produce affordable food.

The key is space for nature. Stepping back from the margins and allowing the naturally high biodiversity that should exist there to thrive. Beaver Trust is therefore working in partnership with leading environmental NGOs on a programme for riparian buffer zones along whole catchments. We need a greater vision than a small strip of river bank, and are aiming for 10-20m+ zones, but it could even mean whole floodplains are set aside for natural processes.

Farmers will then be paid for nature’s recovery and we’d like to see farm clusters able to apply, allowing greater scope for whole catchment restoration and connected nature corridors. For the programme to succeed and feed into ELMs we need a simple payment mechanism and not just another layer to add to the farmer’s list of environmental expectations. We need a broad partnership, including Defra, to think systemically so that it becomes easier for land managers to make good environmental decisions without hidden costs to their operations.

If we allow rivers the space to find their natural course and re-establish meanders, scrub and woodland to naturally regenerate, beavers to bring back freshwater habitat and increase species abundance, then we will start to see real resilience along our river network ready to help us as climate pressures hit harder and stronger.

We hope to see a bold and ambitious government strategy for beavers, but given their catchment-scale impacts we should be thinking systemically with related policies. The great thing about river buffers is that it could take relatively little land out of production – but these edges are where all the great biodiversity happens. So it’s a win-win for conservation and farming if we make it easier and practical to sign up.

4. Are there any other big projects that the Trust is going to be working on in the near future?

Our main policy campaign this year will be river buffers, working in partnership with the National Trust, Rivers Trust and Woodland Trust. As part of this we are working on a follow-up documentary film to the award-winning ‘Beavers Without Borders’ (2020) that explores the challenges and opportunities for river buffers, interviewing experts on a variety of areas including farming, angling, public access and biodiversity. But we will also continue our core policy ambition convening broad stakeholder working groups on the English Beaver Strategy, which the government is set to consult on this summer.

In the restoration department we are supporting a groundbreaking community-led beaver project where a group of local landowners and residents are looking to reintroduce beavers as a flood mitigation strategy along the whole catchment.

Beaver Trust has also recently been awarded the call off contract for the beaver management framework in Scotland by NatureScot, so we’ll be gearing up for a busy season at the end of the year. Working alongside landowners experiencing conflicts particularly in prime agricultural areas and looking towards long-term mitigation strategies. This can range from ecological advice, tree protection, dam and burrowing mitigation, to translocation as a last resort. In collaboration with the animal care and veterinary team at Five Sisters Zoo, beavers are health screened and rehomed to licenced projects elsewhere in the country.

Our communications and outreach team is working hard across a number of projects, including The Lodge Cast podcast series, radio and other media. We also have several education initiatives under way but one particularly exciting partnership is for a new beaver enclosure and educational learning hub at a major tourist attraction in the South West. The key driver of this project is improving nature connection with children from socially and economically deprived backgrounds, and people with reduced mobility and sensory and cognitive disabilities. We have not yet secured funding for this project so cannot say further than that at present but it exemplifies Beaver Trust’s ambition to educate and connect people beyond wildlife enthusiasts with the joys that beaver wetlands offer.

5. The Covid pandemic has had a huge impact on individuals and organisations. How has the Beaver Trust been affected over the past year, and how have you dealt with these unforeseen challenges?

It’s been a genuinely interesting and challenging time to be part of a new charity: Lockdown arrived while Beaver Trust was really getting its roots down, there was no furlough option for us at the time as we were so new, plus we were a very small team and some of us had the challenge of home education to navigate (torturous for both teacher and pupil)!

But it has made us a really strong and resilient team, given our remote locations. I think one of the great strengths of Beaver Trust people is their wholehearted approach to work: Real conversations, emotional wellbeing and individual authenticity is encouraged and, for us, it works well. It also helped immensely to have a powerful passion for nature restoration and climate action shared within the team, enough to keep everyone motivated, and to have such incredible support for beavers from the public. They are already a much-loved animal and as such we’ve received reams of very humbling offers of voluntary support from all sorts of highly experienced individuals. We are grateful for every single one.

6. Thank you so much for your time in chatting to us. One final question: for anyone interested in getting involved in beaver conservation within Britain, how would you suggest that they go about this?

It’s a great question and I’d start by saying it’s time to break the system: forget career silos, land and wildlife needs ALL of us – it is everyone’s countryside, rivers are everyone’s source of freshwater and wildlife should be part of everyone’s mental health and wellbeing whether through paid employment, voluntary time or new cultural norms. To use a small example, how do we make litter picking fun? Anyone can care for their local patch and help conserve it. I recently saw a wine bottle used in the construction of a beaver dam, something we can avoid by everyone taking part.

But I also think the conservation sector can be quite intimidating and packed with such expertise it’s hard to infiltrate, so I’d encourage people to follow their interest and speak up, even if you’re not sure you tick every box. Within beaver restoration, specific roles will emerge within charities and across communities as wild populations expand, specific training programmes will be available (for example beaver management through CIEEM), keep an eye out for new job opportunities with Beaver Trust, Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trusts and others.

Another idea would be to join in with some citizen science on collecting information on beavers and river impacts. This doesn’t need to be specific to Beaver Trust either – there’s the Freshwater Habitats Trust, or the Mammal Society which has a mammal tracker app, all of which could help support wider conservation work.

If you’re already in employment, why not talk to your company about funding nature’s restoration and helping scale the impact of nature restoration charities. One of the biggest challenges to conservation is the funding and resources to expand operations.

On a purely fun level, Beaver Trust also hosts regular outreach activities like May’s poetry competition, last year’s photography competition, the monthly podcast, online quizzes and various other celebrations, so please get in touch and join in. Write us a blog and we might be able to publish it on our website. The more these communications are shared, the more people will understand what a beaver is and be accepting of its arrival. Conserving nature as a whole will benefit all the species that rely on it, including humans.

You can find out more about the Beaver Trust from their website and by following them on Facebook and Twitter.

To learn more about the Beaver Trust’s conservation projects, you can read the Introducing: Beaver Trust article included in the Spring 2021 issue of Conservation Land Management magazine. In this article, Eva Bishop discuss how the Beaver Trust came to be, what it is trying to achieve, and the exciting projects it has been involved in.

Author interview with Alice Bell: Our Biggest Experiment

In Our Biggest Experiment, Alice Bell takes us back to explore the earliest signs and causes of climate change in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to the advancing realisation that global warming was a significant problem in the 1950s and right up to today, where we have seen the growth of the environmental movement, climate scepticism and political responses like the UN climate talks.

Dr Alice Bell is a journalist and historian of science. Alice was a lecturer in science communication at Imperial College for several years, and was also a key contributor to the International Council for Science’s blog on climate policy in the run-up to the UN Paris talks. Alice has kindly agreed to answer some of our questions below.

1) ‘Our Biggest Experiment’ book reads like an epic story with so many interesting scientists and interwoven narratives. Was it always your intention to write this as an historical story, rather than a data and statistics driven text?

Totally. There are already loads of brilliant books explaining the science of climate change. I wanted to offer something a bit different.

When I started seriously reading up on climate change a little over a decade ago, I read through all the papers and briefings on the science and, crucial as all this info was, I kept finding myself asking questions about where the data came from – who commissioned it, why, when, how did they feel about that? This is partly because my undergrad degree is in history of science and I usually respond to science with questions about the people behind it, but it was also because I felt like I needed this history to really understand the climate crisis. As I read further and found answers to my questions. I learnt whole new sides to the climate crisis, deep back-stories and fascinating characters. I found it gave me a new perspective on the issue, and even lifted my spirits in places. I figured these were stories worth sharing, hence the book.

The numbers are vital to understanding climate change – indeed, chunks of my book are about how we came to start counting things like temperature and CO2 – but they’re only part of the story. If we really want to understand the climate crisis, we’re going to have to look around and behind the numbers too.

2) In the book you cover a number of different scientific disciplines and discoveries, which was your favourite area to research and why?

Science-wise, my favourite is probably the ways in which people started to unravel knowledge about past climates through cores of sea mud and ice. I loved reading the autobiography of Danish meteorologist Willi Dansgaard and his trips in the 1950s and 1960s to the Arctic, hunting bubbles of air trapped deep in ancient ice, taking them home for analysis. His study of cores from a US Army centre in the Arctic, Camp Century, took our understanding of atmospheric carbon dioxide back 100,000 years, helping scientists in the 1970s establish that the climate change we were living through was very much something they dubbed “global warming”, not cooling. I find paleoclimatology so wondrous, the ways people can piece together a history of the planet chasing markers through ice, mud, coral and tree rings.

It was also really interesting to learn more about the way scientists have contributed to the oil industry. From Yale chemist Benjamin Silliman Jr’s report on Pennsylvanian ‘rock oil’ back in 1855 (which arguably launched the American oil industry) diversifying into geology, engineering, oceanography and, when it suited them, atmospheric physics. Sometimes fossil fuel companies and their defenders get painted as “anti-science”. In truth they run on science, and always have done (they are just highly strategic about which bits of it they use).

3) I found it really interesting to learn about Eunice Foote and her role in discovering the greenhouse effect, especially since her contribution was overlooked or simply forgotten for so many years. Do you have a favourite character you discovered whilst writing this book?

It has to be Ida Tarbell, the journalist who brought down Rockafeller and the oil industry, over a hundred years ago.

Tarbell was born the same decade as the oil industry (the 1850s) in the same state (Pennsylvania). She saw the boom and bust of its early years, including the steady, steely growth of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. She started off as a teacher, but moved to Paris in her mid 30s to write a biography of a female French revolutionary she thought had been overlooked, Madame Roland. She shared an apartment there with other women writers, hanging out with Louis Pasteur, Emile Zola and an Egyptian prince. While in Paris, she started writing for McClure’s Magazine, a literary and political monthly, first in pages previously filled by children’s author Frances Hodgson Burnett and later, once she’d moved back to New York, taking up an editorial post.

Tarbell apparently convinced the magazine’s owner, Samuel Sidney McClure, to run an exposé on Rockefeller and Standard Oil during a mudbath at a spa in Italy. Her father pleaded with her to pick any other topic for a story on monopolies than Standard Oil – he’d worked in the oil industry and knew you couldn’t win against Rockefeller. At a party in DC hosted by Alexander Graham Bell, one of Rockefeller’s bankers took her aside to say similar, adding a threat to the finances of the mag for good measure. She curtly replied this made no difference to her – she was a journalist, not the owner. Via Mark Twain, Tarbell bagged an introduction to one of the Standard Oil directors, Henry H. Rogers, who remembered her father and was surprisingly candid. Tarbell sleuthed her way to more and soon had enough to go public.

It was published as a series, starting in Nov 1902 and was immediately explosive. The publicity, in turn, brought her new stories, and the series ended up running for two years, published as a book in 1904, followed the following year with a biography of Rockefeller. The reporting influenced the 1904 election, and at one point Roosevelt found himself promising to return $100k in campaign contributions from Standard Oil directors. Then, in 1906, the company was told it had three years to divide itself up into smaller entities. The largest of these new smaller entities was Standard Oil of New Jersey, which we today know as Exxon. The New York arm we now know as Mobil, the Californian one became Chevron.

4) Your background is very well rooted in science communication – do you have any key tips for communicating climate change and inspiring change?

Anyone who says they know how to communicate climate change is selling magic beans. Climate is such a big, complex issue, a lot of the best advice goes out the window, or at least general sci comms advice isn’t enough. There are some basic good tips that apply to most comms work – think about the audiences you want to talk to, go to where they are already (e.g. don’t expect to talk to people who don’t like science at the Science Museum), and most of all, listen to them. But that’ll only get you so far. At Possible – the climate charity I co-run – we spend a lot of time pouring over any research we can get our hands on, so we can be as evidence-based as possible. There isn’t nearly enough research on climate comms, projects like the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations at Cardiff Uni is brilliant, but we need way more research funding on this issue. Something else we’re big on at Possible is finding ways to involve people in climate action – you can spend ages polishing your messages, but it’s all too easy for them to simply wash over people if there isn’t a way for them to get involved.

5) I felt a sense of positivity running through this book, reading about the scientific discoveries made over the years and the amazing technology mankind has developed. Do you find it easy to find courage amongst the bad news, and what makes you feel positive about the future of the climate crisis at the moment?

I’m really lucky to work at a climate action charity, it’s very different from reading data on sea ice melt day in day out. So when all the stories of climate impacts start to feel a bit much, I look to my colleagues taking positive, practical action and it helps me remember that there is still so much we can do. As the ever-articulate NASA climate scientist Kate Marvel puts it, ‘Climate change isn’t a cliff we fall off, but a slope we slide down.’ That slope is getting very steep, but we haven’t fallen off yet. There’s still so much of the world we can save.

There were times writing the book when I felt pretty down. There was a week last summer where it was just blisteringly, stiflingly, oppressively hot in London. London’s horrible when it gets too hot anyway, but that extra knowledge that climate change is contributing to the heat, and hurting people in other countries so much more, makes it all the harder. I was trying to finish the first draft of my book and re-reading all these papers from the 1960s or 1970s musing that “if” we didn’t do anything, the climate could get nasty after the year 2000. It made me so angry about all those lost years of delay and inaction. But at the same time, writing the book helped me find strength too, especially the stories of scientist’s research. Because climate change isn’t obvious. You need science to see it. We could, all too easily, be sitting around thinking ‘the weather’s a bit weird today. Again.’ We at least have this warning, and that’s something quite powerful in itself, even if we haven’t been fast enough to take that warning.

6) Do you have any further projects or books in the pipeline you can tell us about?

I have started mulling over an idea for another book, but honestly I’m not sure I have time. I’ve got too many exciting projects at Possible. My colleague Neil has some amazing work brewing on community hedge planting which has to be put on hold with the pandemic, but I’m so excited to get dug in (literally!) in the next planting season. Then another team member, Emma, has a really fun citizen science app we’re hoping to launch soon (if we can sort the bugs). Then there’s our solar railways work, projects listening to communities about what they think about projects to curb traffic in towns which sprung up during lockdown, and of course the big UN climate talks in Glasgow in November. One thing about climate campaigning is there’s always more to do! It doesn’t get boring.

Our Biggest Experiment: A History of the Climate Crisis
By: Alice Bell
Hardback | June 2021| £16.99 ~~£19.99~~

All prices correct at the time of this article’s publication.

Newly released trail cameras in 2021

Trail camera technology is rapidly advancing and quickly becoming more affordable, allowing anyone to view the wildlife visiting their gardens. During the first half of this year, we have had four new models released on our website boasting updated and improved specifications.

Browning and Bushnell are renowned trail camera brands used by researchers, conservationists and amateur naturalists around the world. Both brands offer high-quality, durable units at a range of price-points.

2021 has brought three new models of Browning camera, named the ‘Elites’. All three are continuations of previous series. The Recon Force and Spec Ops Elite HP4 are similar to the older ‘Edge’ models. The principal change is the addition of high power LEDs which have increased the night time range and image quality. The two cameras are essentially the same design, however the Spec Ops offers no-glow flash rather than the Recon Force’s low-glow.

Browning Recon Force Elite HP4

• High power LEDs
• 22MP images, 1920 x 1080 HD video (60 frames per second)
• 0.1s – 0.7s adjustable trigger speed
• Low-glow infrared flash
• 5cm colour viewing screen

Browning Spec Ops Elite HP4

• High power LEDs
• 22MP images, 1920 x 1080 HD video (60 frames per second)
• 0.1s – 0.7s adjustable trigger speed
• No-glow infrared flash
• 5cm colour viewing screen

Browning Command Ops Elite

The Command Ops Pro, Browning’s entry level camera, has been replaced by the Command Ops Elite. Despite coming in at a lower price point than other cameras in the range it boasts some fantastic features, including a faster trigger speed than its predecessor. If a colour viewing screen is not an essential feature for you, this camera will allow you to take images and videos at a significantly more affordable price.

• 18MP images, 1280 x 720 HD video (30 frames per second)
• 0.3s trigger speed
• Low-glow infrared flash
• Black and green text screen

Bushnell Prime

Similarly, Bushnell released a new entry-level camera this year. The Prime offers a similar spec to the Command ops, but with significantly higher megapixel images. For more information on this camera and to see it in action, please read our ‘In the Field’ blog post.

• 24MP images, 1280 x 720 HD video
• 0.3s trigger speed
• Low-glow infrared flash
• Black and white text screen

Explore the complete range of trail cameras on our website or take a look at our Watching Wildlife guide on how to choose the right trail camera.

Watching Wildlife – How to choose the right Trail Camera

This is part one of a two-part series that will look into different ways of filming wildlife in your back garden. In this part, we will take a look at trail cameras and what to look out for when buying one.

The variety of trail cameras on offer can be overwhelming, here are a few key things to look out for:

Type of LEDs

In order to capture videos or images in the dark, camera traps use infrared LEDs to illuminate the subject with little to no visible light used. There are two main types of LED flash systems that trail cameras use. These are No Glow and Low Glow. No Glow LEDs produce very little visible light and so are almost completely undetectable by the subject. Low Glow LEDs produce a faint red glow and so are not completely invisible, which can sometimes alert animals such as deer and foxes. However, they do have the benefit of being able to illuminate better over a longer distance.

Red Fox Bushnell Trail Camera — Red Fox captured on Bushnell Trail Camera

Trigger Speed

Trigger speed is the time taken for the camera to take a photo once it has detected movement. If you are aiming to capture a fast-moving subject, then a quicker trigger speed (below 0.3 seconds) will enable you to achieve these photos before your subject has moved out of frame.

Recovery Time

Recovery time is the time taken for the camera to process an image and become ready to take a second photo. If you want to capture multiple images of a subject as it comes into view of your camera, then a shorter recovery time will allow for this.

Badger photo Ltl Acorn Trail Camera — Badger photo captured on Ltl Acorn Trail Camera ©Bryony James

Hybrid Mode

Hybrid mode allows the camera to take videos and photos simultaneously. A camera with this capability may be useful if you want to get as much footage as possible of anything that falls into frame of the camera. If you are more interested in capturing only photographs or only videos, this mode may not be an important feature.

Resolution and Interpolation

The quality of the images and videos that your trail camera can take will depend on its resolution. Most cameras have settings that can alter the resolution either, decreasing it through compression, or increasing it through interpolation. Compression is useful if you want to deploy your camera for a long time and memory card capacity may become an issue, whereas interpolation can produce a larger image by adding pixels. The best way to compare the quality of images between cameras is to look at sample photos and videos. The displayed megapixel value is often resolution as a result of interpolation. The true resolution of the image sensor can usually be found in the specifications as the true sensor resolution.

Screen

Many trail cameras come with built-in viewing screens allowing you to view your photos and videos in the field. This is particularly useful if you want to take a few test shots to check the positioning of the camera.

Our Suggestions

If you’re looking for a good entry-level camera, then take a look at the Browning Strike Force Full HD. It takes high quality images and videos for a very affordable price.
LED type: Low Glow
Trigger speed: 0.135-0.7s
Recovery time: 0.5s
Hybrid: No
Resolution: 22MP
Viewing Screen: Small screen showing text only

For the next step up, the mid-range Browning Dark Ops HD Pro X is one of our most popular trail cameras. With No Glow LEDs and a impressively quick trigger speed, this is a great all-round option.
LED type: No Glow
Trigger speed: 0.22s
Recovery time: 0.6s
Hybrid: No
Resolution: 20MP
Viewing Screen: 3.8cm colour screen

If the hybrid mode is an important feature for your work, a Bushnell Core DS No Glow may be the one for you. Dual sensors target day and night in order to provide the best quality images, no matter the light conditions.
LED type: No Glow
Trigger speed: 0.2s
Recovery time: 0.7s
Hybrid: Yes
Resolution: 30MP
Viewing Screen: 5.08cm colour screen

If the subject of your trail camera photos or videos is particularly fast, it may be worth taking a look at the Browning Spec Ops Elite HP5 whose adjustable trigger speed starts from 0.1 seconds is one of the fastest on the market.
LED type: No Glow
Trigger speed: 0.1-0.7s
Recovery time: 0.5s
Hybrid: No
Resolution: 24MP
Viewing Screen: 5cm colour screen

Accessories

There are a selection of accessories that you may want pair with your camera to get the best out of your camera-trapping experience.
If you are worried about leaving an expensive piece of kit outside and unattended, then you may want to invest in a Python Lock. This cable lock will fit most trail cameras and and will give you piece of mind that your camera is secured in place. Here you can watch how to set up this lock with your own trail camera. You also may be interested in a security case that is compatible with your trail camera. These cases house your camera and secure with a padlock, which helps prevent vandalism and theft.

SD Cards

All cameras need a memory card to store your photos and videos on. Make sure to check what SD card capacity your camera needs, this is usually found in the specifications section. Browse our selection of SD cards to order alongside your camera so that you can get snapping as soon as possible.

Power Options

Most cameras are powered by batteries. We recommend you use Lithium Ion batteries with your trail camera to ensure maximum trigger speeds and longer battery life. Make sure to check how many batteries your camera needs. Some trail cameras are also compatible with solar panels which will allow you to extend the battery life of your camera. This is especially useful if you want to leave your camera outside for extended periods of time.

Starter Bundles

If you are looking to buy a trail camera and want to make sure you will be able to get out and start capturing as soon as it arrives, then you may want to take a look at our starter bundle options. These bundles come with a memory card and batteries that are right for your camera to ensure you have everything you need to get started.

To see more trail cameras available, take a look at our range here.

Would you like some more advice on which trail camera or nest box camera is most suitable for you? Contact us on +44 (0)1803 865913 or email customer.services@nhbs.com .

The NHBS Guide to UK Dragonfly Identification

The season is finally upon us when sun-loving dragonflies are emerging from their aquatic homes. The cold beginning to the year has certainly delayed their appearance, but flashes of blue and green are now being seen above our local ponds and streams.

The name dragonfly is often used to refer to insects of the order Odonata, that includes both the actual dragonflies and their close relatives, the damselflies. In this blog we will use the word dragonfly to describe only the genuine dragonflies from the sub-group Anisoptera.

Although initially very similar in appearance, dragonflies and damselflies can be easily told apart by a few identifying features. Dragonflies tend to be larger and bulkier insects overall with significantly larger eyes when compared to the slim built and rather delicate damsels. When at rest dragonflies hold their wings open whereas damsels remain closed.

Emperor Dragonfly by Ferran Pestaña via Flickr (L) and Common Blue Damselfly by Charlie Jackson via Flickr (R)

These insects are not only beautiful but are also very important members of freshwater ecosystems. They manage populations of smaller prey species such as mosquitos and provide a source of food for many birds including wagtails, kingfishers and hobbies. They are a reliable indicator of good quality freshwater.

There are just under 30 species of dragonfly living in the UK. Identification of these is primarily performed using the patterns and colouration of the thorax and abdomen, although some particularly similar species need the finer details, such as leg colour, to be examined.

Below are ten of the most common and widespread species you are likely to spot, split by taxonomic family.

Hawkers (Aeshnidae)

Hawkers (also known as Darners) are a family of large rather ‘traditional- looking’ dragonflies. They are very strong fliers, often seen flying forwards and backwards and hovering in mid-air. The name hawker, meaning to hunt on the wing, references their ability to catch prey in flight using their feet or mouthparts. Hawkers rarely come to rest, making identification more challenging than other groups.

Common Hawker – Aeshna juncea

Appearance: A large black or brown dragonfly with blue spots along the body.
Look out for: Two extended yellow lines on the thorax (highlighted in the image) make it possible to separate the male of this species from its counterpart, the migrant hawker. The patterns on the abdomen that are also highlighted below also differ and will be explained further below.
Months active: June – October
Size: 7.4cm

Common Hawker by Jorg Hempel (L) via Flickr and Oddwellies (R) via Flickr. The red boxes highlight two important markings for separating this species from the migrant hawker below.

Migrant Hawker – Aeshna mixta

Appearance: Overall, very similar in appearance to the common hawker although very slightly smaller.
Identification: This species has truncated, or non-existent stripes on the thorax, separating it from the common hawker. However the most important feature, present in both males and females, is the noticeable widening of the abdominal line at the top, forming a T shape that is not present on the common hawker.
Months active: July – November
Size: 6.3cm

Migrant Hawker by Tony Hisgett (L) via Flickr and Charlie Jackson (R) via Flickr. Note the short stripes and ‘t-shaped’ mark on upper abdomen

Southern Hawker – Aeshna cyanea

Identification: A bright and colourful dragonfly with alternating lime green and blue markings.The females of this species lack the blue and so appear more modestly coloured.
Months active: June – October
Size: 7cm

Southern Hawker by Airwolfhound (L) via Flickr and Ian Preston (R) via Flickr

Brown Hawker – Aeshna grandis

Appearance: Brown-bodied dragonfly with uniform small blue markings along the side of the abdomen.
Identification: The brown, slightly translucent wings on this species are unique in UK dragonflies, making it easy to identify.
Months active: June – September
Size: 7.3cm

Brown Hawker by It’s No Game (L) via Flickr and Pavel Kirillov (R) via Flickr

Emperor Dragonfly – Anax imperator

Despite the lack of ‘hawker’ in this dragonfly’s name, it is still found in the same family as the previous species and so is regarded as a hawker-type.

Appearance: An eye-catching brightly coloured species. The UK’s overall bulkiest, largest dragonfly (although not technically the longest – see the golden-ringed).
Identification: Bright green thorax, with blue ‘tail’
Months active: June to August
Size: 7.8cm

Emperor Dragonfly by Tristram Brelstaff (L) via Flickr and Charlie Jackson (R) via Flickr

Goldenrings (Cordulegastridae)

Another family of large dragonflies, the Goldenrings are also known as ‘Spiketails’ due to the females prominent, long ovipositors at the end of their bodies. Only one member of this family is currently found in the UK, making identification simple.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly – Cordulegaster boltonii

Identification: An appropriately named dragonfly with prominent colouration – bright yellow and black stripes down the body are found on both the males and females of the species.
Months active: May- September
Size: 7.4cm, although females can be up to 8.4cm when including their long ovipositor, making them technically the longest species found in the UK.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly images by Gail Hampshire via Flickr – Left image and right image

Chasers and Darters (Libellulidae)

Chasers and darters are significantly smaller dragonflies than the hawkers and goldenrings, including our smallest species. Appropriately named, these dragonflies tend to perch and then suddenly chase/dart after their prey. Their movement can appear less smooth and instead more erratic than the larger hawkers.

Chasers have rather wide/broad and flattened bodies when compared to the familiar image of a slender bodied dragonfly.

Four-spotted Chaser – Libellula quadrimaculata

Appearance: A ‘stout’ brown dragonfly with a darker tip to the base of the abdomen.
Identification: As the name suggests, four characteristic spots are present on the midpoints of the wings.
Months active: May – September
Size: 3.9- 4.8 cm

Four-spotted Chaser by gailhampshire (L) via Flickr and ianpreston (R) via Flickr

Broad-bodied chaser – Libellula depressa

Appearance: Wide-bodied with a striking and beautiful ‘icy’ blue body on male. Females look similar but with a yellowy-golden body.
Identification: A number of other chaser species share the blue colouration, but the broad-bodied is easily the most commonly seen. The dark bases to all four wings is an additional identifying feature.
Months active: May – August
Size: 3.9 – 4.8 cm

Broad-bodied Chaser male (L) by Ian Preston via Flickr and female (R) by Jans Canon via Flickr

Darters are also shorter than the hawker dragonflies but have more slender bodies than the chasers with a ‘cigar-like’ shape.

Common darter – Sympetrum striolatum

Appearance: A brightly coloured, red dragonfly with yellow side stripes on the thorax. Females of the species are instead rather uniformly yellow.
Identification: Despite the coloration, this dragonfly looks very similar to many other darter species, in particular the rarer Ruddy darter. These two can be distinguished by the presence of yellow leg stripes, whereas the Ruddy’s legs are purely black.
Months active: July – October
Size: 3.8 – 4.3cm

Common Darter female (L) by Nikk via Flickr and male (R) by Gail Hampshire via Flickr

Black Darter – Sympetrum danae

Appearance: Smallest resident dragonfly. The males are entirely black whereas females are a bright yellow, appearing similar to the females of the common darter.
Identification: The mature male of this species is the only black dragonfly in the UK.
Months active: June – October
Size: 2.9 – 3.4 cm

Black Darter male (L) by Alastair Rae via Flickr and female (R) by Gail Hampshire via Flickr

Recommended reading:

Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe
By: Klaas-Douwe B Dijkstra, Asmus Schröter and Richard Lewington
Paperback | Oct 2020
Hardback | Oct 2020
Fully revised, the second edition of this guide features updated taxonomic and distribution information, as well as five new species discovered since the first edition in 2006.

Britain’s Dragonflies
By: Dave Smallshire, Andy Swash
Flexibound | Aug 2018
This updated fourth edition features hundreds of stunning images and identification charts covering all 57 resident, migrant and former breeding species, and six potential vagrants.

All prices correct at the time of this article’s publication.

The NHBS Guide to Common UK Moth Identification

Moths are a fascinating and beautiful part of the natural landscape in the UK. However due in part to their elusive nature, often plain colouration and the unfavourable habits of a few cloth eating species, they very rarely receive the same recognition as their more illustrious butterfly cousins.

However, understanding and protecting our moths is more important now than ever. Recent studies in the UK have highlighted that many common and specialist moth species are continuing along a worrying trend of decline as they are subject to increasing pressures from urbanisation, pollution, agricultural intensification and climate change. The latest State of Moths Report estimated declines in moth abundance of around 33% between 1968 and 2021, while the latest State of Nature report estimates declines for many common moths of around 25% between 1978 and 2018. While the estimated rate of decline does vary between studies, being influenced by the timescale over which data was collected and the geographic location data was collected from (northern counties appear to undergo slower declines in moth abundance than southern counties), they come to the same conclusion that many of the UK’s moths are declining at significant rates.

These reports would not be possible without the extensive records provided by professional entomologists and amateur moth enthusiasts around the country. You can help conserve this key group by submitting your own records to either a local record centre or to a national recording scheme, such as the National Moth Recording Scheme (NMRS).

Identifying Moths

Getting started with identifying moths can appear a rather daunting task. This concern is understandable as a quick skim through any field guide will quickly show the near identical appearances of some species and the extreme variation present in others. However there are a number of moth species that are quite distinct and offer an excellent introduction to the world of moths.

In this article we have compiled a list of those species which can be encountered throughout most of the UK. Some species are more restricted than others and some are only typically encountered when using a light trap, however they are all fantastic species to become familiar with.

Silver-Y

Latin name: Autographa gamma
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Medium
Look out for: Unbroken silver “y” on the upper forewing.
Did you know?: The Silver-Y undertake intergenerational migrations. Immigrant moths in spring will breed and over successive generations swell their population size by around four times, until the Autumn when they emigrate back across the channel and south through Europe.

Large Yellow Underwing

Latin name: Noctua pronuba
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Medium/Large
Identification: Yellow hindwings with black borders are the best indicator, however it often rests with wings closed and has a highly variable appearance.
Did you know?: Considered by some to be one of our most common medium-large moths, especially when populations are bolstered by occasional large immigrations in the south of the UK.

Red Underwing

Latin name: Catocala nupta
Distribution: Throughout UK, most common in south-central England
Size: Large
Identification: Red hindwing is very distinctive. Similar looking species have a darker crimson red and are much scarcer.
Did you know?: The Red Underwing is gradually increasing its range northwards and becoming more common in previously low-density colder regions.

A small moth with brown mottled upper wings. The under wings are a striking dark orange striped with dark brown. — Red Underwing Moth (*Catocala nupta*) by Alastair Rae via Flickr

Angle Shades

Latin name: Phlogophora meticulosa
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Medium
Identification: Unique folded wings give the impression of a fallen autumn leaf
Did you know?: Adult moths are often encountered in the day resting in the open.

A small, cream to light brown coloured moth. The edges of the wings are scalloped and the wings have a darker, ringed triangle section on the outside wing edge. — Angle Shades Moth (Phlogophora meticulosa) by Donald Hobern via Flickr

Peppered Moth

Latin name: Biston betularia
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Large
Identification: Rests with wings spread open. White form is peppered with black spots. Black form has mostly uniform colour and is generally only found in urban areas.
Did you know?: The abundance of white and black variants of the Peppered Moth has been extensively studied and is often used as an example of evolution by natural selection.

A small, white moth speckled with black rests on a mossy wood piece. — Peppered Moth (Biston betularia) by gailhampshire via Flickr

White Ermine

Latin name: Spilosoma lubricipeda
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Medium
Identification: Strong white coloured forewings, peppered with black spots, and a yellow-coloured upper abdomen. Wing colour and spotting is variable within and between populations.
Did you know?: Its common name is derived from its resemblance to an Ermine coat.

A small, white moth is perched on a leaf. It has creamy white long hair on its legs, abdomen and head. Its wings are also white with some scattered dark brown/black spots. — White Ermine Moth (Spilosoma lubricipeda) by Patrick Clement via Flickr

Muslin Moth

Latin name: Diaphora mendica
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Medium
Identification: They have large stocky wings. Males typically have grey-brown coloured wings, whereas Females have a similar colouration to White Ermine moths, though their wings are opaque
Did you know?: Male Muslin Moths in Ireland have a creamy white colouration to their wings. Similarly coloured males can also be found in some locations on the Cornish/Devon border.

A small grey-brown moth is perched on a lichen covered tree. It has long fluffy hair on its head and abdomen and grey-brown wings with a few symmetrical spots. — Muslin Moth (Diaphora mendica) by Patrick Clement via Flickr

Swallow-tailed Moth

Latin name: Ourapteryx sambucaria
Distribution: Throughout UK, though scarcer in Northern Scotland
Size: Large
Identification: Broad wings with a pale uniform yellow colour, intersected by diagonal dark lines. Hindwings have short tails.
Did you know?: The species is hard to encounter without a light trap. The adults have a short flight period and are strictly nocturnal, while the caterpillars have a cryptic colouration which gives them the appearance of a twig.

A white-lemon yellow moth is sat on a rock next to some grass. It has two symmetrical dark yellow stripes on its upper wing, one stripe on the lower wings. The lower wings have pointed tips and its body is covered in lemon yellow fluffy fur. — Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria) by Ben Sale via Flickr

Feathered Thorn

Latin name: Colotois pennaria
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Medium
Identification: Rests with wings flat apart. Wings are a reddish brown with a pink hue and have a slightly hooked tip on the forewing. They fly very late in the year which can help with distinguishing from similar species.
Did you know?: Their common name is derived from the large feathered antenna present on males of the species.

A small orange-yellow moth with a fluffy head and abdomen. The wings have a set of symmetrical brown dots and two horizontal dark stripes. — Feathered Thorn Moth (Colotois pennaria) by Ben Sale via Flickr

Hebrew Character

Latin name: Orthosia gothica
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Medium
Identification: Have distinctive and unique black markings on the forewing.
Did you know?: Their common name is derived from the markings on the forewing which resemble the Hebrew letter Nun.

A chocolate brown moth with short hair on its head and abdomen. The wings have areas of darker brown 'C' shaped patterning — Hebrew Character Moth (Orthosia gothica) by Ben Sale via Flickr

Common Quaker

Latin name: Orthosia cerasi
Distribution: Throughout UK, though scarcer in Northern Scotland
Size: Medium
Identification: Has a highly variable markings and colouration, however the strong outline of the “oval” and “kidney” markings on the forewings is a helpful identifier.
Did you know?: The four quaker species in the UK are believed to have received their common name back in the 1700s. Lepidopterists took inspiration from the Quakers at the time, who apparently wore clothing of similar hues.

A small brown moth with a fluffy head and abdomen. The wing tips have vertical bars and the wings have distinctive symmetrical sphere and kidney-shaped markings. — Common Quaker Moth (Orthosia cerasi) by Ben Sale via Flickr

Elephant Hawk-Moth

Latin name: Deilephila elpenor
Distribution: Throughout UK, though scarce in Scotland
Size: Large
Identification: Has striking and well defined pink colouration across the whole body.
Did you know?: The name of the Elephant Hawk Moth is derived from its resemblance to an Elephant’s trunk when in its larval form.

A striking pink and yellow-brown moth. The body is elongated with a pink vertical stripe through the middle and pink-coloured edges. The wings are outwardly pointed and have 3 vertical pink stripes on each side. — Elephant Hawk-Moth (Deilephila elpenor) by Alastair Rae via Flickr

Poplar Hawk-moth

Latin name: Laothoe populi
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Large
Identification: Unique wing shape where hindwings extend beyond forewings and gives it a resemblance to a dead leaf. Its abdomen is curved upwards at the tip.
Did you know?: This is believed to be our most common Hawk-Moth species and it can be found by light trapping in summer throughout the UK.

A uniquely shaped light-grey moth, with a thick curved body. The wings are outwardly pointed and have bars of mottled brown on the centre of the wing and at the wing tip. — Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi) by Ben Grantham via Flickr

Jersey Tiger Moth

Latin name: Euplagia quadripunctaria
Distribution: Mostly found it the South-west of the UK, though it is spreading North
Size: Medium-Large
Identification: Wings bear a unique diagonal zebra stripe pattern which can be used to tell it apart from other Tiger Moth species.
Did you know?: Until recently this moth was considered scarce in the UK and could only be commonly encountered on Jersey and some parts of the South Devon coastline.

A striking moth with dark brown, creamy white and yellow colouration. The wings are symmetrical with creamy white stripes on a dark brown wing, and the tips of the wings are coloured yellow with four dark brown spots. — Jersey Tiger Moth (Euplagia quadripunctaria) by Paul via Flickr

Garden Tiger Moth

Latin name: Arctia caja
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Medium-Large
Identification: Bright orange hindwings have bold blue-black spots which can help tell this species apart from other Tiger Moths
Did you know?: The Garden Tiger has defensive glands behind its head which it uses to secrete a toxic fluid when attacked.

This moth has a chocolate brown fluffy head, with vibrant orange hair on its abdomen and three black strikes near the bottom. The upper wings are creamy white with dark brown patterning. The hind wings are a vibrant orange with black-blue spots. — Garden Tiger Moth (Arctia caja) by Alastair Rae via Flickr

Scarlet Tiger Moth

Latin name: Callimorpha dominula
Distribution: Mostly found it the South-West of the UK and Wales
Size: Medium
Identification: The forewings have a distinct metallic green-black colour patterned with white/cream coloured spots. Hindwings are a striking red colour in most individuals.
Did you know?: Rarely aberrant forms of Scarlet Tiger Moth occur with yellow underwings.

A vibrant moth with a red underwing. The upper wings are black with symmetrical white spots. The underwing is a striking red with symmetrical black colouration. The thorax is black and the abdomen is red with a black stripe through the middle. — Scarlet Tiger Moth (Callimorpha dominula) by Patrick Clement via Flickr

Six-spot Burnet

Latin name: Zygaena filipendulae
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Medium
Identification: Has metallic coloured forewings patterned with three pairs of vibrant red spots
Did you know?: The six-spot Burnet is the commonest burnet moth in the UK and can be found across most of the country, including the outer hebrides.

Cinnabar Moth

Latin name: Tyria jacobaeae
Distribution: Throughout UK
Size: Medium
Identification: Forewings are dark black with a long streak of vibrant red on the outer edge. Antennae are thin and lack the bulbous tip of similar looking Burnet moths.
Did you know?: The caterpillars are gregarious feeders of ragwort, and have been intentionally introduced into the United States, Australia and New Zealand to biologically control ragwort.

Common Plume

Latin name: Emmelina monodactyla
Distribution: Common in England with increasing scarcity further North
Size: Small
Identification: This rather bizarre looking moth rests with the wings held away from the body, giving it a unique T shape.
Did you know?: These moths have clefts in their wings and plumes at the end of each division of the wing.