Moth Research

In September 2014 we started a program to document the moths of Thickson’s Woods. Our initial goal was to record 1000 species. We ended 2015 with 650 species and we ended 2016 with an incredible 952 species. When we finished 2019 in October we had recorded a remarkable 1046 species. It is getting harder to discover new species, but note there are still some of the commoner moths that we have not trapped.

Every time we set the traps we become excited with anticipation as we discover just how diverse moths are and how important they are as pollinators to healthy biodiversity.

From size to shape, to colour, to texture, to mimickery, to vagrancy – moths cover it all. We never know what may turn up.

The Thickson’s Woods Moth Group is a lot of fun and we hope to invite small numbers of interested people to come and learn what we do and hopefully get “the bug” as we did.

There are about 168 species of butterfly recorded in Ontario, compared to about 3000 moth species. If we consider how important butterflies are then is it not fair to consider by scale how important moths must be? We know little about them but they are pollinators and I call them the Forgotten Pollinators. The fascinating project creates more and more questions.

If you are interested in learning more about the moths of Thickson’s Woods, please contact Phill Holder.

Moth Video

Moth Photos