Monaghan Tidy Towns host Moth Event

Tidy Towns is about a lot more than just picking litter. Monaghan Tidy Towns has
made the enhancement of biodiversity one of it’s main focus areas in recent years.
With this in mind they organised a recent event on Moths in Monaghan. Moth traps
were set overnight in two local gardens as well as in Tom Youngs Wood (out the
Clones Rd) and at Peters Lake. These traps don’t harm the bugs, merely attract and
hold them until they can be recorded and released. If you are like myself, you
probably can’t name a single moth variety but Monaghan Tidy Town (led by the
capable Heather Bothwell) captured and identified over 20 different species!

The event was guided by Heather Bothwell who is a lifelong birdwatcher and wildlife
enthusiast. A trained Zoologist, she has great experience engaging and explaining all
things wild and wonderful to the uninitiated and despite the weather everyone really
enjoyed the outing!

When the traps are emptied, each captive is carefully transferred into a separate jar
so that it can be studied individually and at close range. One particularly exciting
discovery was the rare “Old Lady” moth. By setting moth traps in a variety of locations
(gardens, along waterways, deep in forests) experts will often find different types of
moths. Science is enhanced and improved by repeated measuring. As the quote
goes, “One accurate measurement is worth a thousand opinions”.

Regular and systematic recording of flora and fauna helps scientists paint a picture of
what species might be experiencing increases or decreases in population over long
time periods. In this picture you can see records over several decades for confirmed
recordings of the Old Lady moth with a graph showing the months in which their
sighting is most often recorded. Mid-summer is when this moth is most active.