ALLERTON PROJECT - INNOVATIVE FARMING | Food chain Caterpillars and moths are an important link in the food chain as many other species feed on them
We created ponds in a grass margin for the straw dot moth; (middle) the beautifully coloured large emerald.
creating the species’ preferred habitat close to the trap, in the form of a 20 metre Stewardship grass margin incorporating three small ponds. The stunning Merveille du Jour moth has also started to appear. This may be because we are planting a lot more oak (the larval food plant) in our woodland, a surprisingly scarce tree when we began managing the estate in 1992. Over 2,400 species of moth have been recorded in the British Isles, of which about 900 fall into the larger moth category (macros), while the rest are placed in the small category (micros). If you are one of the many people who think that moths are boring, brown and offer little benefit to anything, then think again. Take the Silver Y moth (below), probably our most common migrant which comes from as far away as north Africa to spend the summer months here. They select the fastest and most favourably directed airstreams, to enable them to migrate distances of between 300
kilometres (km) and 400km per night, flying at speeds of more than 50km per hour. Many moths are spectacularly beautiful, such as the large elephant hawk moth and the garden tiger moth. Also moths are a hugely important ‘link’ in the food chain as so many other creatures such as bats and birds feed on them or their caterpillars. Many species time the hatching of their chicks to coincide with peak caterpillar numbers. A blue tit chick, for instance, can eat up to 100 caterpillars a day, so to feed a brood of 10, the parents may need to find a staggering 1,000 caterpillars a day. So, why not start to find out about moths? It does not matter where you are in the country; you can easily get to see them. Just by leaving an outside light on or using a light bulb and a white sheet you can attract moths. But ideally you need a moth trap, which you can buy ready made, or build yourself by getting hold of a few fairly cheap parts from the recommended retailers below. It is a fabulous way to get children involved in wildlife as they thoroughly enjoy the excitement of checking out the ‘catch’ in the morning. There is an amazing ‘mothy’ world out there waiting to be discovered. Many species, such as the blue tit, time the hatching of their chicks to coincide with peak caterpillar numbers.
Sustainable energy The Allerton Project’s eco-visitors’ centre was designed to be energy efficient. Here are some statistics of how it has performed in terms of its energy consumption and usage after just one year.
£3,352 saved on oil costs. Instead 14.5 tonnes of wood has been burnt by the woodchip boiler, cutting our CO2 by 13.8 tonnes.
£225 the cost of producing our own fuel – 90 tonnes of woodchip. Based on chipping cost at £15 per tonne.
More information Butterfly Conservation also has lots of information on moths www.butterfly-conservation.org UK Moths will help you identify the moths you come across: www.ukmoths.org.uk Suppliers of entomological equipment, including moth-traps: Anglian Lepidopterist Supplies www.angleps.com and Watkins & Doncaster www.watdon.co.uk Best moth book ID guides: Field guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland by Waring & Townsend ISBN 978 0 9531399 8 9 and Field guide to the Micro Moths of Great Britain and Ireland by Sterling & Parsons ISBN 978 0 9564902 1 6
www.gwct.org.uk/allerton
5,930 kilowatts of electrical power have been produced by our solar panels, saving us £711 compared with purchasing from the grid. It has also brought in income through the Feed In Tariff payments, which have generated £2,490. This has reduced our CO2 emissions by 3.11 tonnes. GAMEWISE • SPRING 2014 | 17