Wales Moth List 2020
It seems the first lockdown didn't adversely affect recording effort in 2020 as 114 new county records were received, six more than in 2019. Perhaps more people started moth trapping in their gardens during lockdown and the fine weather during the May-June lockdown period will have benefitted many moths.
Six species were new for Wales: Dotted Fan-foot (Montgomeryshire), Dark Crimson Underwing and Shining Marbled (both Monmouthshire) and the micro-moths Caryocolum kroesmanniella (Denbighshire), Acleris abietana and Evergestis extimalis (both Monmouthshire). The Caryocolum is a woodland species and likely an overlooked resident; the rest are likely to be immigrants or wanderers from English populations but could become established in Wales in the future.
- Montgomeryshire had by far the highest tally with 20 new species, including an incredible 8 new macro-moth species (all other counties had between zero and three new macro-moths).
- Anglesey had the most new micro-moth species with 13, followed by Monmouthshire and Carmarthenshire with 12.
- Clifden Nonpareil (aka Blue Underwing) continued its incredible recent expansion, being recorded from three new counties in 2020 (Breconshire, Caernarvonshire & Denbighshire). It has now been recorded from over half of the Welsh vice-counties, having first appeared in Glamorgan in 2017.
Thanks to all of the Wales county moth recorders for supplying details of the new moths recorded in their counties in 2020.