Embrace Caterpillars: Saving the UK's Endangered Moths
Gardeners urged to welcome caterpillars as charities work to reverse the dramatic decline of moth populations across the UK.
As spring arrives and gardens spring to life, many gardeners engage in a familiar battle: fighting against the caterpillars that munch on their prized plants. However, conservation groups are now calling for a change in perspective, urging Britons to embrace these plant-munching creatures as a vital part of supporting the UK's endangered moth population.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and The Wildlife Trusts are spearheading a campaign to encourage a more relaxed attitude towards caterpillars. Traditionally, the advice for gardeners has focused on how to rid their gardens of these unwanted pests. But now, these organizations are highlighting the crucial role caterpillars play in the life cycle of many moth species, whose numbers have plummeted in recent decades.
Foxgloves, for example, are an important food source for the larvae of several moth species, including the lesser yellow underwing (Noctua comes), angle shades moth (Phlogophora meticulosa), and setaceous Hebrew character (Xestia c-nigrum). Similarly, the lady's bedstraw, a native wildflower with frothy yellow blooms, provides sustenance for the hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum), elephant hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor), and bedstraw hawk-moth (Hyles gallii).
Source: The Guardian
