Unlike their gaudy day-flying relations moths are thought to reside in the shadows, denizens of the night, circling around street lights or caught momentarily in the glare of car headlights on a country lane. There are, however, many more species of day-flying moths than there are of butterflies, and as for colours and patterns, many moths rival or even exceed butterflies in the dazzling patterns and colours of their markings. The study of moths formed an integral part of early natural history and many thousands of drawings, paintings and physical specimens remain in museum collections. In recent years there has been a renewed surge of interest in moths facilitated by advances in digital photography, the web-based dissemination of scientific expertise and new projects that enable direct collaboration between amateur experts and scientists.
