Farmer Moth Monitoring EIP Project Report

The Farmer Moth Monitoring Project was a pilot test of a simple farm moth monitoring system designed for use by farmers. The project's outputs included a final report on the monitoring process results and an informative flyer featuring six common moth species found on Irish farmland. Forty-three of the 578 species of Irish macro-moths are threatened with extinction, whilst the conservation status of Ireland's micro-moths is unknown. Evidence from elsewhere, however, suggests that many species are in decline. Habitat destruction and degradation, driven by land-use change and chemical pollution, are among the leading causes of decline. The project aimed to test the feasibility of farmers helping to monitor moths that occur on their farms. Based on the outcome, develop a simple farm moth monitoring system suitable for wide rollout on Irish farms, which could be included in the national pollinator monitoring scheme (https://biodiversityireland.ie/irish-pollinator-monitoring-scheme-ipoms/) in line with EU recommendations. The project also wanted to gain insights into the relationships between the number of specimens and farm type (beef, dairy, mixed and tillage) and land use within the farm (land managed for production where no intervention for the benefit of biodiversity has occurred versus land where intervention for the benefit of biodiversity has occurred). On each farm, one moth trap was placed in the middle of a field, whilst another was placed alongside a nearby hedgerow. It was found that the traps situated by the hedgerow tended to attract a wider variety of moth species in greater numbers. It was unsurprising, as hedgerows often contain various nectar sources for adult moths and food plants for the caterpillars. They also serve as effective hiding places during the day for moths to avoid predation by birds, mammals, and other insects. The results so far have demonstrated that a wide variety of moths may be found on Irish farms. Species such as the Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba), Common Rustic (Mesapamea secalis agg.) and the Heart-and-Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) commonly occurred across many of the farms, whilst others such as the Heath Rustic (Xestia agathina) and Coxcomb Prominent (Ptilodon capucina) only appeared once. The diversity of moth species found on different farm types varied, but this was often a reflection of the number of trapping sessions. Once this was considered, there was little difference between the various types of farms.