CULTIVATING Learning and Nature CIC hosted a fantastic community wildlife event on June 23 focused completely on moths.

The social enterprise, CLaN, saw the Hub at St Peter's Centre, Peterchurch fill with people keen to find out more about the local moths that fly at this time of year.

Throughout the morning participants were able to look closely at the insects, answer crosswords on them, create a felted moth to take away and even hold a moth before they were released.

There were also several lepidopterists on hand to answer questions and bacon or egg butties to sustain the crowds.

The UK has over 2000 species of moths, yet they are often not seen as so many of them only fly at night. The ones that are seen during the day, such as the Cinnabar moth Tyria jacobaeae are often mistaken for butterflies.

CLaN's Moth Breakfast was a great opportunity for people to experience first-hand the diversity that the Golden Valley has and to dispel some of the myths about moths. When the previous night's catch was unveiled the hawk moths were an immediate hit but there was also much curiosity in the more subtle moths such as the buff-tip Phalera bucephala.

Tim Kaye of Cultivating Learning and Nature said 'it was just incredible seeing so many people there wanting to find out more about moths. There are many groups of animals such as birds and butterflies, that have a big following, but moths are quite often forgotten about so to see people really wanting to engage with nature in this way is wonderful to see'

Following on from a successful Moth Breakfast last year numbers increased this year with nearly 70 people turning up at 9am on a sunny Saturday morning. It really emphasised the interest people have with these often-misunderstood insects.

Cultivating Leaning and Nature CIC are dedicated to enthusing and educating people about the natural world.