Sunday’s Butterfly & Moth event at the Arisaig Land, Sea & Islands Centre was a great success, despite the relentless morning rain!
About 25 people of all ages braved the rain to join us for morning coffee and homemade cakes, before Tom Prescott from Butterfly Conservation, opened up the moth traps (set the night before in Morar, Tougal and Arisaig) to reveal their contents. Lots of very beautiful moths were identified, including a couple of species as yet unrecorded on this part of the west coast. The moths were less than enthusiastic about regaining their freedom in such wet weather conditions. . .
A timely, early afternoon gap in the rain lasted long enough for a very enjoyable, and wonderfully informal butterfly walk and talk, led by Tom, around nearby Arisaig Glen.
The children were encouraged to take part in the Big Butterfly Count, currently taking place around the UK – www.bigbutterflycount.org – an annual survey of butterfly numbers and species, organised by Butterfly Conservation.