Butterfly Conservation Northern Ireland will be in the Faughan Valley at the end of next week to encourage people to begin recording butterflies and moths in the area.
Faughan Valley Landscape Partnership will host a Butterfly Recording Workshop from 2.00pm-4.00pm at RAPID offices at 2 Foreglen Road, Killaloo, on Friday, 27 June next.
Catherine Bertrand, Northern Ireland’s leading expert will be in attendance to give a fun and informative talk on how to identify butterflies, the threats they face and how to take part in national recording projects by recording the butterflies in your garden or local areas.
Also at 7.00pm on the same day, a Moth Night will be held at Park Recycling Centre when Catherine will demonstrate how to set up a moth trap and will help people identify the variety of species they are likely to catch. The trap will be opened the next morning at 11.00am.
Butterflies and moths are one of the most threatened groups of wildlife. In the last 100 years in Britain, nearly 70 species have become extinct (four butterflies and 65 moths).
Butterfly Conservation’s recording programmes show that around two-thirds of species are declining and over 170 species are threatened.
Annie Mullan, Community Engagement Officer with Faughan Valley Landscape Partnership, explained: “We take part in a UK wide butterfly recording scheme at sites throughout the Faughan Valley and we would be keen to recruit more volunteers to help us undertake butterfly counts.
“We also have a moth trap that could be borrowed from us if there are volunteers out there that would be keen to start learning about what moths visit their garden or surrounding countryside.”
Annie concluded: “Without knowing what is there we will not be able to make important management decisions or undertake environmental projects to benefit this group of insects.”
To book on the Butterfly recording workshop or Moth Night contact Annie Mullan, telephone 028 71337498. email: [email protected] or visit www.faughanvalley.com.
Photo attached: A small child holding a white ermine moth.
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