Part of our work in looking after the wildlife Martineau Gardens is to record what species visit this urban oasis. Wildlife Volunteers Andrew Curran and Brian Perry are responsible for most of our wildlife records. In addition to records of birds,mammals and flora – they regularly carry out moth trappings throughout the year. Our moth trap is a light-box contained within wood – it’s put out in the evening, under the Pavilion canopy – the light attracts the moths and some fly in. The box is filled with cardboard egg boxes providing dark nooks and crannies where moths can hide. The moths settle. The next morning, our wildlife surveyors inspect the egg trays, record what has been found and the moths are then released unharmed.
Wildlife volunteers surveying moths in summer at Martineau Gardens.
Wildlife volunteers surveying moths in summer at Martineau Gardens
Identifying moth before it is released at Martineau Gardens
Brimstone moth, recorded one summer
Gallery: Moths at Martineau Gardens
If you’re new to moths, you’ll be amazed by how beautiful these can be – many have intricate detail, are brightly coloured or superbly camouflaged. View images of moths photographed by Andrew and Brian, in the gallery at the foot of this page.
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- Scarlet Tiger Moth at Martineau Gardens photo: A Curran
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- Red Sword Grass Moth
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- Red-Green Carpet Moth, identified on a Moth Trapping Survey
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- Brimstone Moth
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- Merveille du Jour moth
Moth Species List
Thanks to the dedication of Brian and Andrew, our species list record goes back to 2000. You can view a spreadsheet of our moths species list here: Martineau Gardens Moth List 2025
The total number of moths recorded now stands at 447. This is a very good result for a site in a suburban area. The main factors in our favour are these:
- Edgbaston is a very green suburb with good biodiversity.
- All our gardening is organic.
- We’ve been doing regular recording for some time now – about 17 years.
Our wildlife records are submitted to EcoRecord, the ecological database for Birmingham and the Black Country. EcoRecord is a not-for-profit service run in partnership for the public benefit – it collects, manages, interprets and disseminates information of known quality relating to the wildlife, wildlife sites and habitats of the Birmingham and the Black Country area (Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton).