Moths face extinction as numbers fall across UK

POPULATIONS of moths across the UK have dwindled over the past 40 years, with three species becoming extinct in the last decade, a scientific report claims.

Publication of The State of Britain’s Larger Moths 2013 reveals that the Orange Upperwing, Bordered Gothic and Brighton Wainscot were wiped out during the past ten years.

The report has raised fears other species which were once common, including the V-moth, the Garden Tiger and the Spinach could also soon become extinct after numbers plummeted by more than 90 per cent.

Authors at wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation, working with agricultural experts at Rothamsted Research, found that two-thirds of macro-moths, which were previously widespread across the UK, have gone into decline since the late 1960s.

The total number of UK moth species which have become extinct during the 20th century now stands at 65.