National Farmer Moth Monitoring Programme

The National Biodiversity Data Centre is currently looking for volunteer farmers to participate in a new programme which involves monitoring moth populations on farmland across Ireland. Moths are important nocturnal pollinators and a vital part of the natural food chain, but most types are in decline in Ireland. This new scheme aims to find out how their populations are faring, with results also allowing better assessment of actions taken on the farm with regard pollinator populations. This is done using lightweight, automatic moth traps which are operated on one night every two weeks from April to September. Participants would take photos of the moths found in the trap, which are then sent back to NBDC for identification. The moths are released unharmed. All equipment and training will be provided, and no prior knowledge of moths is required. We are currently seeking expressions of interest from farmers to join the programme. As much as possible, we are looking for a fairly even spread across the country and also a range of farm types and farming intensity. We expect to be expanding the scheme over the coming years, so if we are oversubscribed this year there may be opportunities to join the scheme in the coming years. So if you are interested in participating in this programme, please complete this very short expression of interest form before 31 January 2025: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=v1RB7NzwaU2gi26LAORRZXrQOkbnn0lCpaj-NX4_UBJUMDRVWldYMlAzS0k2QVlNOElXODRFNkhRSy4u If you would like more information, please don't hesitate to email me at: [email protected] As well as providing a valuable insight into moth species' distributions, it is the perfect opportunity to find out which moths you have on your farm. We had some great feedback from previous pilot schemes, so why not give it a try? Thanks, Tim Butter