Monitoring lepidopteran species

At present, the Lepidoptera fauna of Iceland is being monitored at 19 sites around the country. Light-traps gather data for a total of 30 weeks each year, from mid-April to mid-November. All lepidopteron species are included in the study. Monitoring extends to trichopterans (caddis flies) at some sites.

The monitoring project was initiated by the IINH in 1995. It was a part of a Nordic project, the Moth Monitoring Scheme, which unfortunately did not last as long as was planned. Two sites were initially selected for the project. Monitoring is still ongoing at one of the sites but ended at the other in 2008. Ten years into the project, more sites gradually began to be added, mainly in cooperation with local nature centres. The most recent monitoring site to be established was in 2015 (see map). 

IINH Contact: Erling Ólafsson