Power to the Pollinators 

Power to the Pollinators is a series of small events for local people to connect, learn and be inspired by moths and butterflies that spend time and take up home at the Three Hares Woodland.  We are now coming to an end  of our Power to the Pollinators series and have one more family friendly opportunity for you to engage with, Please see the flyer above for more information.   We are very grateful to Midlothian Climate Action Network for funding Power to the Pollinators as well as our very own moth trap, with additional support from Action Earth Volunteering Matters. 

Great News from Moth Camp

We held our Moth Camp on 29th August, and what a buzz we’ve had this year. 7 people camped out overnight at the woodland to spend time learning about moths, their habitats. moth identification skills and moth trapping.  As we are now transitioning into the Autumn months the moths that we observed were mostly brown apart from the beautiful Canary Shoulder Thorn, Sallow moths and a stunning Frosted Orange. Just as a note, the moths are attracted by light into the ‘trap’, are identified, then released unharmed.

We were really pleased that Mark Cubitt moth expert and Midlothian’s moth recorder took up our invitation to join us. Together we set up 4 home made moth traps that were constructed by Mark.  What’s so inspiring is the fact that you can, with a little bit of creativity and resourcefulness build your own mobile moth trap out of a variety of useful materials such as garden tubs, egg boxes, batteries and bulbs.  We also learned moth identification and recording skills with Ian Edwards kindly being the scribe while data was inputted.  

Thanks to everyone who joined us this year, hopefully see you all again at the woodland soon.

To learn more about our local moths please visit the East of Scotland Butterfly Conservation page here. 

https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-your-area/east-scotland-branch

Here’s some great news from Mark Cubitt – Moth Camp 2026;

‘Three of the moth species trapped were particularly interesting. None of them had been recorded in Midlothian before 2026. The Small Mottled Willow has had an amazing year; it is a migrant species and it has been found across the UK including across the Lothians this year. The Ear Moth is one of three related species in its family and hasn’t been reliably recorded in the county before. Finally the Devon Carpet has been spreading up through Scotland from further south over the last couple of years and this was the first record for Midlothian too.’

We hope to see you at our next event! 18th September, 5:30-9pm at Three Hares for Bat Watch, Moth Adventure and Bat Arts and Crafts.