Six-belted Clearwing moth / Thanh Doan
No.3 The six-belted clearwing was a first for me and also included because of the joy it brought to the team and to the member of the public taking part in a citizen science BioBlitz on Braye common.
Best moths of 2025
Niamh McDevitt
Moth recorder Lou Collings highlights Alderney’s top moths of 2025.
Campion moth / Lou Collings
No.6 probably the campion in all its pinkish-purple tinted splendour. Although not new to our records this moth has not been commonly recorded in recent years unlike the similar Lychnis which is often plentiful. It is a beautiful moth, to my eyes, a little like the orache in its subtle understated beauty.
Burnished Brass moth / Lou Collings
No.7 a single burnished brass creeps into the top 10 as a result of its amazing flashy coat.
Lychnis / Lou Collings
The Lychnis
No.10 is taken by the four-spotted footman as this year we have seen a huge rise in the number of these lichen-loving moths, both males and females in all of their glory. The males with their navy inky legs and the females with the spots of their name are always favourites with keen young moth enthusiasts to show differences between the sexes of some species of moths.
Four-spotted footman (female)
Four-spotted footman (male) / Lou Collings
Waved Umber / Lou Collings
I could easily have included the Devonshire wainscot which hasn’t been recorded for a while or the fact that we saw huge numbers of waved umbers and willow beauties this year.
Willow Beauty / Lou Collings
Willow beauty
The moths fly in July and August, sometimes again in September in the south.
Occupying any suitable habitat, the larval foodplants are a number of deciduous trees including hawthorn (Crataegus) and ivy (Hedera).
Red-necked footman / William Bill Black
Red-necked footman has been recorded less in recent years so it was nice to see these appear in summer traps.
Box-tree moth / Lou Collings
Box-tree moths (three variants) / Lou Collings
Box-tree moth / Lou Collings
Box-tree moths of all three variants have also continued to rise in number this year but fortunately, as yet, their caterpillars have not been noted to be a garden pest.
micro-moth / Lou Collings
Pellitory beauty moth / Lou Collings
Twenty-plume moth / Lou Collings
Marbled-yellow pearl / Lou Collings
We have recorded greater numbers of micro-moth species this year in a concerted effort to learn more of the general biodiversity of moths on the island.
So bring on 2026 and all those moth jewels welcome to our traps!