More than 1,000 species of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) have been identified within the Christchurch Harbour Recording Area. The total of moth species identified currently stands at 1,037.

The CHOG Moths project aims to provide information about all recorded species in a format that is readily accessible, and of value both to the ‘moths enthusiast’ and the casual observer. The web pages are updated annually towards the end of each calendar year. Information that is already online will be updated as more survey results and sightings continue to be added.

For the ‘moths enthusiast’, a complete list of the moth species identified in the Christchurch Harbour Recording Area can be found in the Systematic List.

For a guide to the habitats in Christchurch Harbour and the readily identifiable adult moths that are likely to be found in each habitat within the Harbour, continue reading this page …

Moth species are organised by a national code system. Each of the species on the CHOG Harbour Moths list has a code, which corresponds to the checklist number of the species as it appears in:

‘A checklist of the Lepidoptera of the British Isles’  Agassiz, D.J.L., Beavan, S.D. & Heckford R.J. 2013.

To aid identification and to act as a guide to finding species within the Harbour, some of the species of moths that have been identified within the recording area have been arranged by the habitat in which each species is most likely to be found within Christchurch Harbour.

Ten Harbour habitats have been documented. They are:

Semi-natural Woodland – native tree species that have not obviously been planted
Mixed Woodland – deciduous broadleaves and evergreen conifers where neither dominate
Sand Dunes – accumulated coastal deposits of mobile sand and gravel
Heathland – dwarf shrubs on an impoverished acidic, sandy soil
Unimproved Grassland – acid grassland on sandy and gravelly soil
Improved Grassland – restored neutral to acid grassland
Saltmarsh – wetlands that are regularly flooded and drained by ocean tides
Freshwater Marsh – wetlands seasonally inundated with shallow fresh water
Scrub and Hedgerows – predominantly native small trees and shrubs under 5m tall
Reedbed – wetlands dominated by stands of Common Reed

Click on a highlighted habitat type for more information.

Species that are nationally rare, or nationally scarce, have been further annotated as follows:

R* – nationally rare and breeds in the Harbour
R – nationally rare other
S* – nationally scarce and breeds in the Harbour
S – nationally scarce other

Within each Harbour habitat, species that are likely to be found in that habitat have been organised into three subsections:

Diurnal readily identifiable as adults
Nocturnal readily identifiable as adults
Other notable species

Within each subsection, species are listed in order of national code.

For a full explanation of layout and terms click here.

To start your exploration of Harbour moths, click on one of the habitats below.

Species likely to be found in …

Semi-natural Woodland habitat within Christchurch Harbour
Mixed Woodland habitat within Christchurch Harbour
Sand Dunes habitat within Christchurch Harbour
Heathland habitat within Christchurch Harbour
Unimproved Grassland habitat within Christchurch Harbour
Improved Grassland habitat within Christchurch Harbour
Saltmarsh habitat within Christchurch Harbour
Freshwater Marsh habitat within Christchurch Harbour
Scrub and Hedgerows habitat within Christchurch Harbour
Reedbed habitat within Christchurch Harbour