Searching for caterpillars is a very accessible way of recording moth distribution. The 2024 survey was very popular and helped us fill in some of the gaps in our distribution maps. There are still some gaps in our knowldege, so we are running the survey for another year.

We have chosen the same four species with very distinctive hairy caterpillars – the drinker, fox moth, northern eggar and garden tiger, which are fairly easy to identify. We have very few records of the caterpillars of these species from Harris, Lewis and Barra, but you can still take part on other islands – all records are important.

We have produced simple guide containing photographs and descriptions of four target species, distribution maps and a calendar to show when they are most abundant. All you have to do is post your observations on the Facebook group, together with the date and locations (OS map reference, what3words, latitude/longitude or location name and post code). If you get very enthusiastic and collect lots of records, you can use the OHBR recording form (full details in the recording section of this website).