This beauty is definitely no butterfly

A first sighting of the Jersey tiger can leave observers exasperated. It looks like a butterfly, flies like a butterfly, is the same size as a butterfly and, like a butterfly, is found during the day. But, despite what your eyes may be telling you, the Jersey tiger is actually a moth. It is not just any moth though. The Jersey tiger turns the perception of moths as dull, brown jumper-devourers on its head. At rest, its black wings are streaked with white tiger stripes, but once disturbed the jersey tiger reveals a whirr of crimson – equally as dramatic as anything produced by the brashest of British butterflies. This performance used to be a rare spectacle in a tiny corner of Devon. But in just 20 years climate change has seen the moth spread across large swathes of the UK. The moth is now commonly seen in London, bringing an exotic splash of colour to the grey of the city. That the Jersey tiger is a show-off should come as little surprise for it is a member of the most flamboyant moth family in the UK – the tiger moths. Tigers are large and strikingly coloured. They boast eye-catching patterns and many can be easily found in our back gardens. They have the glamour to ensnare moth enthusiasts and amateur wildlife lovers alike. Moth fanatic Les Hill, who collects official moth sightings for Dorset, said: “Tiger moths are among the most charismatic of species in the British Isles. They help dispel the myth that all moths are dull and boring. “Their forewings are marked with stripes similar to tigers. This helps break up their outline to avoid predators, in contrast to tigers that use a similar technique to conceal themselves from their prey.” This August the attention of the UK’s army of moth lovers turned toward the tigers when this family was the focus of Moth Night 2013. Tigers have experienced vastly differing fortunes in recent years as climate change has taken a toll. Just as the Jersey tiger has seen its fortunes soar so the garden tiger, arguably the most dramatic of the tigers, has suffered a big decline. The garden tiger, a red, brown, cream and blue beauty, was once common across the UK. But, in the last 40 years it has decreased by 92%. Mr Hill said: “Climate change in the form of warmer, wetter winters has affected the garden tiger’s caterpillar stage. These conditions may have increased the incidence of diseases which would not normally be prevalent in cold, dry conditions.” Another species that has thrived as the climate changes is the ruby tiger. This claret-coloured moth has become common in gardens across the UK and has seen its population soar by 296% in 40 years. Moth Night 2013 asked people to take part in recording events. Public sightings will be gathered to assess the effects of climate change. Moth Night organiser Mark Tunmore believes the event helps to dispel commonly held moth myths. He said: “Some moths are as colourful as the butterfly species we know and love. But because they fly at night the public are often not aware of this. “Each year we get the same negative stories about clothes-eating caterpillars or caterpillars with irritant hairs, but the number of harmful species is a handful out of the 2,500 in the British Isles. It’s a bit like saying that all football supporters are hooligans.”