Fifers are invited to spend their Saturday night (15 May) going wild this weekend by paying a late-night visit to Cullaloe, one of the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s (SWT) local wildlife reserves, near Aberdour, to discover more about some of Scotland’s most fascinating and diverse insect species.

Armed with flashlights, light traps and nets, locals can help to capture, identify and record the many types of moth that live in the area surrounding Cullaloe Reserve. Funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, and part of the International Year of Biodiversity 2010, this National Moth Night event aims to record important data to be submitted into a UK-wide database tracking moths across Britain. 

Alistair Whyte, Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Reserve Manager for Fife, said:  “For those people who think of moths as brown and boring, I urge you to come along to our National Moth Night and see the true beauty and variety of our fluttering friends for yourself.  

“Moths come in many different colours, patterns and sizes and over the years they have developed a variety of fascinating ways to avoid detection and capture by their natural enemy, the bat! 

“National Moth Night is a UK-wide celebration of moths and moth recording, but it focuses on bats too.  We will be taking bat-detectors out into the Reserve to listen in to these aerial predators as they home in on their prey.

The National Moth Night event at Cullaloe is taking place on Saturday 15 May 2010 from 9pm until late.  Participants will meet in the car park at the Reserve and are reminded to wear warm clothing and bring a torch if they need one.  All children must be accompanied. 
 
Cullaloe Wildlife Reserve was originally two reservoirs that provided drinking water for Burntisland.  With the main reservoir now completely drained and the second reservoir partially drained, Cullaloe is now home to a variety of mosses, lichens, willow scrub and marsh vegetation.  The reserve is famed for its woodcock, a bird species which breeds in the undergrowth and can often be seen at dusk in early spring flying around the treetops. 
 

***ENDS***

NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. SWT is the largest voluntary body working for all the wildlife of Scotland, representing more than 35,000 members who care for wildlife and the environment. SWT seeks to raise public awareness of threatened habitats and species and manages over 120 reserves Scotland-wide.

2. The People’s Postcode Lottery is the lottery for charities in Scotland.  Launched in November 2007, People’s Postcode Lottery represents a unique fundraising concept where players play with their postcode to win cash prizes whilst supporting local charities in Scotland. 40p from each ticket sold goes direct to charities in Scotland. To date SWT have received over £1,015,585 from PPL which helps maintain the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s network of over 120 reserves across Scotland.

3. SWT receives financial assistance and support from a range of organisations, funders and individuals including Scottish Natural Heritage and the People’s Postcode Lottery.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Nicola McGovern, SWT PR Officer
Tel: 0131 312 4742
Email: nmcgovern@swt.org.uk