30/09/2026
This summer, the UK saw not only a bumper year for insect numbers but also several "first sightings" of insects arriving in the British Isles.
Identifications have come in for the Verge Cricket (๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐บ๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ช๐จ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ด), ๐๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ข and the spotted-seal enolmis moth (๐๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข), to name just a few of the ones seen this year.
With a high number of migrating insects, it's clear there is a dynamic system of factors at play affecting UK wildlife. To some degree this can be attributed to the restoration of historical ecosystems, an ongoing effort in parts of the country, but it cannot go unsaid the affects climate change has played on the movement of insects to the UK.
Some theorise that this year's wildfires in Europe may have driven insect migration to the relatively safer wilderness of the UK, with many species moving in response to extreme heat as well. The higher temperatures also leading to higher number of certain insect species overall. An idea that seems to pair well with the high numbers of Hummingbird Hawk Moths (๐๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ถ๐ฎ) , Hoverflies (๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ข ๐ด๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ๐ต๐ข) and Painted Ladies (๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ข ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ช) spotted this year.
While it remains to be seen if these species will become permanent residents as winter arrives, it is clear that the ecosystem around us is undergoing significant changes. As new species become a more common sight, pressure is growing to take measures to safeguard crops and plants from species that may feed on them.
Images sourced from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/24/world-warms-up-insects-moving-northwards-uk
