Naming of moths

Emma Chaplin
, 27 August 2020
Naming of moths
Peach Blossom Moth © Bob Eade

By Charlotte Owen

Large Emerald. White Ermine. Angle Shades. Peach Blossom. Burnished Brass. These are just some of the magical names that flutter to life in the garden after dark, alongside Pale Tussock, Feathered Thorn and Scalloped Oak. For centuries, moths have cast a spell of fascination and intrigue so potent they have been bestowed with some of the most beautiful, fanciful and charming names in natural history.

In a break from tradition, the Victorians can’t take all the credit. Many names still in use today first emerged in the 1600s, which explains the Lutestrings, Brocades, Wainscots and Footmen. Lots are more descriptive, which is helpful when trying to identify which of the 2,500 native species has settled on the ceiling. It’s easy to picture the Black V, Orange Underwing, Speckled Yellow and Chocolate-tip but others are more inventive, from the sooty-black Chimney Sweeper to the tropical sunset colours of the Beautiful Marbled, and you could even roll out the Red Carpet. Moth names often refer to the time of year, preferred habitat or larval food plant, so we have the November Moth, July Highflier, Grass Eggar and Heath Rivulet. But there is no escaping the fact that many moths are very similar in appearance and even the experts struggle sometimes, as evidenced by the Uncertain, Suspected, and Confused.

If you’re keen to put a face to some of these names, try opening a window after dark and leaving the light on. Moths navigate by the stars and are attracted to light, so a bright white bathroom makes an excellent moth trap. Pick a warm, still night and it won’t be long before the first visitors arrive, ready for you to puzzle out their identity. There’s a handy guide to what’s flying tonight on the Sussex Moth Group website to help narrow things down – but even if you’re not sure what you’re looking at, it’s fascinating to take a closer look at these nocturnal animals and marvel at their amazing diversity. To encourage more flying Carpets, Kittens and Waves, try growing a night-scented nectar buffet of honeysuckle, jasmine and evening primrose – and prepare to be spellbound by the magic of moths.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783150891.47190 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783150891.49930.0274Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783150891.49950.0002Server address: 216.73.217.177
1783150891.49950.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783150891.49950Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/naming-of-moths
    [s] => naming-of-moths
    [1] => naming-of-moths
)
1783150891.49990.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783150891.50090.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783150891.50320.0022 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783150891.50380.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783150891.50580.002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22602271
1783150891.50640.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22602271
1783150891.50690.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-04 07:41:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-04 07:41:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783150891.50810.0012 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='naming-of-moths')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 07:41:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783150891.5110.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783150891.51150.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2302 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 07:41:00'
1783150891.51230.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783150891.5130.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783150891.51360.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=181 LIMIT 1
1783150891.51420.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=49 LIMIT 1
1783150891.51480.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783150891.51490.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783150891.51590.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 07:41:00' AND postSlug='naming-of-moths'
1783150891.53740.0215Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783150891.5380.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783150891.53970.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783150891.53990.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783150891.54080.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783150891.54230.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783150891.54540.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783150891.5460.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783150891.54820.0022Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783150891.54820.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783150891.54870.0005 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783150891.5490.0002 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783150891.55160.0026 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783150891.55260.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783150891.55340.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783150891.55570.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783150891.55660.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783150891.55950.0029 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783150891.560.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783150891.56030.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783150891.56120.0009Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783150891.56160.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='naming-of-moths')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 07:41:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783150891.56370.0021 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783150891.56430.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783150891.56690.0026Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783150891.56780.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2302 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783150891.61960.0518 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783150891.61980.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783150891.620.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783150891.62070.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783150891.62130.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783150891.62180.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783150891.62410.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783150891.62450.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783150891.62650.002 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783150891.62750.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783150891.62810.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783150891.62860.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783150891.63130.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783150891.63180.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783150891.63430.0025 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783150891.63730.003 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783150891.63810.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783150891.63860.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783150891.64090.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783150891.64140.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783150891.64350.002 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783150891.64620.0028 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783150891.6470.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783150891.64740.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783150891.64960.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783150891.65020.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783150891.65230.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783150891.65370.0014Request time: 0.1851
1783150891.65370Process time: 0.185
1783150891.65370Memory: 1.6221