Moth recorders in the West Midlands are celebrating the completion of an online atlas covering Birmingham & the Black Country, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire www.westmidlandsmoths.co.uk. This marks the culmination of three years work spearheaded by West Midlands Butterfly Conservation, who provided the funding, and involving all the local county moth recorders. The atlas covers all macro and micro moths recorded for the region and for each species a distribution map is provided showing both historic and more recent records, together with photos of the adult and in some cases larvae, plus information on status, phenology, population trends and larval food plants.
The design of the atlas was undertaken by Jim Wheeler and is modelled on the very successful Norfolk Moths website. The main difference being that the West Midlands atlas covers four shire counties rather than one and also the huge urban conurbation of Birmingham and the Black Country. Another important difference is that there is no direct data entry, the atlas shows only records verified by county recorders and will be updated annually.
Peter Hall, County Moth Recorder for Herefordshire, and part of the group that worked on the Atlas explained: “We wanted to offer the opportunity for all recorders to see their records incorporated with everyone else’s. Up to now records are submitted but recorders see little back for their efforts. We wanted to change that and now everyone can see the bigger picture that their efforts have contributed towards. Recorders can also submit photos to the site. The atlas complements the new Moths of the West Midlands book produced by West Midlands Butterfly Conservation and published last year.”
The new atlas includes all records to the end of 2019 with last year’s records to be added over the coming months when all have been verified by county recorders. Access to the atlas is free but for those wanting more detailed information the site offers Golden Cinnabar membership which will also pay for upkeep and maintenance of the site.
The book is available to buy from www.naturebureau.co.uk/bookshop. For further information contact Peter Hall: @email