Consevation? Rare/declining species?

[Lindsay-c]

I'm interested in rearing caterpillars so I can release them back to the wild right after metamorphosis and I would like to maybe find caterpillars of moths or butterflies which are rare or declining in britain and hopefully contribute to increasing their population.

can anyone give me some name of species which are threatened/declining ?

[Paul mabbott]

I suspect that most threatened moths are the subject of BAPs and/or recovery plans. You would probably get information from Natural England - Home Page

[Dogghound]

My advice is leave any rare or declining species well alone. Its far more likely you would not be able to reproduce natural conditions and end up damaging them. If you want to help rare insects then get involved in habitat management and other forms of conservation. This is where the issue lies especially with insects. You may be able to raise some and release them, but if their habitat is declining and degrading what use is it.

[Lindsay-c]

Good point Dogghound, it's true it is difficult to mimic natural conditions and I certainly wouldn't want to be resposible for harming an already endangered species. Not worth the risk of that even accidentally. Advice taken !

[Paul mabbott]

Absolutely agree but you might get involved with the local people who are carrying out breeding and release in a controlled manner - they may be short-handed. Maybe not ....

However, as WM suggests no harm in practicing on common species first!

[theresa dockery]

Some of the most endangered moths & butterflies in the UK can only be legally handled/possessed by someone with a licence (which, I'd imagine, is granted to very few).

Also, some of our rarest lepidoptera only feed on particular foodplants (sometimes rare/localized themselves) and have very specific habitat/environmental requirements...often the reason why they've become scarce in the first place!

Lepidoptera can be tricky to rear (I started off with lepidoptera but became more interested in phasmids) as each life-stage (egg, larva, pupa, adult) has different requirements/needs - for some rare species, we don't even know exactly what these requirements are! Which is why it is generally considered best to leave them in their habitat.

You could always try rearing common species first? There are lots of insect livestock suppliers out there.

How to help with moth conservation - Moths Count

Moth & butterfly recording/surveying is very important - many parts of the country are appallingly under-surveyed when it comes to insects (most aspiring zoologists are more interested in tigers, dolphins or elephants ). At the same time, this makes it more exciting, as there is more to discover...potentially even new species!