LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE NIGHT SHIFT! 

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Although we tend to think of pollinators in terms of daylight visitors to flowering plants, like bees and butterflies, we really should spare more than the occasional thought for the night shift. Although moths do not carry out as many visits to flowers during the hours of darkness as bees, et al, do during the day, perhaps only 15% of the total, research by the University of Sussex (2021) found that their efforts were both faster and more efficient. So, moths cover less ground but pollinate more plants in terms energy expended.

Despite their apparent importance though, many UK moth species are under serious threat. Its a horrifying fact that since 1914 there have been 56 moth extinctions, and two thirds of all o our moth species have declined in the last 40 years. Whereas bees get a cheer and a hashtag (#savethebees) because of their better PR, the humble moth actually needs our help far far more.