The Moths of Lancashire – due May 2024

A landmark publication, being the first comprehensive assessment of the moths of Lancashire (including North Merseyside and most of Greater Manchester) since 1940. Based on nearly two million records, from 1829 to 2022, and new species up to autumn 2023, and with contributions from over 2,400 recorders. Accounts are provided for all 1,570 Lancashire species, including distribution maps and phenology graphs. Larval foodplants utilised in the county are documented for the first time. Seventeen of these species (e.g. Belted Beauty and Portland Moth) are given more in-depth, extended coverage with detailed analysis of past and present records, potential threats and recommendations for future management. The book, produced with the support of The Tanyptera Trust, contains around 2,500 photographs, all taken within Lancashire, showing almost every species ever found in the county, with about half having a larval or leaf-mine image in addition to the photo of the moth.

The introductory chapters also include an overview of the special habitats to be found in Lancashire, including saltmarshes, mosses, limestone woodland and England’s largest dune system, with an introduction noting some of the great historical figures of Lancashire moth recording.

Hardback, 672pp., colour photographs, illustrations and distribution maps

Stephen Palmer & Ben Smart, Pisces Publications, due May 2024

ISBN: 9781913994136