This dataset includes a set of modelled outputs produced as part of the DECIDE project. Three groups were modelled; butterflies, day-flying moths and night-flying moths. (For the moths, we only considered 'macro-moths'.) For each group there are three outputs; species richness, model variability and DECIDE recording priority. The outputs summarise across multiple species within each group. The model’s prediction probability of occurrence for individual species is not made available. The outputs are in a raster format on Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system (OSGB) at 100m x 100m resolution. Species richness layers are a modelled prediction of how many species are present at a location. Model variability is used to determine where a model is uncertain about its prediction of species occurrence. Model variability is combined with information about how recently a species had been recorded to produce the DECIDE recording priority. The DECIDE recording priority is a measure to prioritise locations to support adaptive sampling of where to collect species occurrence data to improve species distribution models. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/445381ce-f412-48a0-bc3c-2d0ef4737274

Plant-pollinator interactions database derived from biological recording data, unpublished experimental data and published interactions in books and papers. The database covers all recorded interactions for bees, hoverflies and butterflies in mainland GB. Interactions were inferred from biological recording metadata by algorithmically screening for text matching a valid scientific or vernacular plant name (or a widely used synonym or abbreviation of either), followed by manual data cleaning. These data were compiled for the construction of multiple potential plant-pollinator networks in combination with plant and pollinator occurrence data. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/6d8d5cb5-bd54-4da7-903a-15bd4bbd531b

Site indices, as a relative measure of the actual population size, for UK butterfly species calculated from data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS). Site indices are a relative rather than an absolute measure of the size of a population, and have been shown to relate closely to other, more intensive, measures of population size such as mark, release, recapture (MRR) methods. The site index can be thought of as a relative measure of the actual population size, being a more or less constant proportion of the number of butterflies present. The proportion seen is likely to vary according to species; some butterfly species are more conspicuous and thus more easily detected, whereas others are much less easy to see. Site indices are only calculated at sites with sufficient monitoring visits throughout the season, or for targeted reduced effort surveys (timed observations, larval web counts and egg counts) where counts are generally obtained as close to the peak of the flight period as possible and are subsequently adjusted for the time of year and size of the site (area of suitable habitat type for a given species). Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) sites are thus excluded because they are based on very few visits from which accurate indices of abundance cannot currently be calculated. For transect sites a statistical model (a General Additive Model, 'GAM') is used to impute missing values and to calculate a site index. Each year most transect sites (over 90%) produce an index for at least one species and in recent years site indices are calculated for almost 1,500 sites across the UK. Site indices are subsequently collated to contribute to the overall 'Collated Index' for each species, which are relative measures of the abundance of each species across a geographical area, for example, across the whole UK or at country level in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Individual site indices are important in informing conservation management as not all sites show the same patterns for each species and likely reflect a combination of local climate and habitat management at the site. Although the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and Butterfly Conservation (BC) are responsible for the calculation and interpretation of site indices, the collection of the data used in its creation is ultimately reliant on a large volunteer community. The UKBMS is run by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), in partnership with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), and supported and steered by Forestry Commission (FC), Natural England(NE), Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/378f0f77-1842-4789-ba15-6fbdf7d02299

This dataset provides linear trends, over varying time periods, for the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) Collated Indices of individual butterfly species across the UK. The main statistical values derived from a linear regression (slope, standard error, P-value) are presented for the entire time series for each species (1976 to 2014), for the last 20 years, and for the last decade. In addition a trend class, based on slope direction and its significance, and a percentage change for that time period are provided to describe the statistical trends. These trend data are provided for 59 UK butterfly species. Trends across different time series allow us to determine the long and short-term trends for individual species. This enables us to focus conservation and research and also to assess species responses to conservation already in place. The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and Butterfly Conservation (BC) are responsible for the calculation and interpretation of this trend datasets. The collection of the underlying UKBMS data is reliant on a large volunteer community. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is funded by a consortium of organisations led by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). This dataset is updated annually and a more recent version of the UKBMS species trends (2015) is now available. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/93c14e8e-0353-469b-8adc-420c227ac8f4

Here, we present a comprehensive traits database for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland. The database covers 968 species in 21 families. Ecological traits fall into four main categories: life cycle ecology and phenology, host plant specificity and characteristics, breeding habitat, and morphological characteristics. The database also contains data regarding species distribution, conservation status, and temporal trends for abundance and occupancy. This database can be used for a wide array of purposes including further fundamental research on species and community responses to environmental change, conservation and management studies, and evolutionary biology. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/33a66d6a-dd9b-4a19-9026-cf1ffb969cdb

This dataset contains maternal reproductive output data, embryonic development data and offspring performance data for the Speckled Wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria. The data were collected from a laboratory experiment testing the hypothesis that repeat periods of intensive flight during female oviposition affects egg provisioning and reduces offspring performance when larval development occurs on drought stressed host plants. The experiment involved stimulating female butterflies to fly for 5 minutes for 3 periods during oviposition; removing eggs from 5 different days during oviposition to be monitored for hatching; and removing a larva on day of hatching to be reared on a drought stressed host plant. For each larva, development time from hatching to pupation, pupal mass and survival to eclose as an adult was recorded. On eclosion, each offspring adult was sexed and the thorax weighed. The overall aim of this experimental work was to explore one of the potential mechanisms for the impact of drought and habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. Full details about this nonGeographicDataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/82233733-237a-4fea-a5c1-88c734752279

This dataset contains information about moth caterpillar masses at sites lit by streetlights (LED; high pressure sodium and low-pressure sodium) and unlit control sites. Caterpillars were sampled at 26 matched pairs of lit and unlit sites between 2018 and 2020 as part of a study of the effects of street lighting on the early life stages of moths. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/7d3aa79b-43bb-493f-a14a-0d4c07f9a0d9

Counts of caterpillars arising from a short-term experiment that installed lighting rigs in previously unlit areas to test for a change in nocturnal feeding behaviour. Caterpillars were counted from lit and control transects at two locations in Oxfordshire during January and February 2019. Lighting rigs were installed during the afternoon and switched on one hour before sunset. To give the nocturnal caterpillars time to become active, sampling occurred between 60 and 120 minutes after sunset. On a sampling night, all transects were sampled within a 5–10-minute period. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/7e7ce7c1-aa16-484f-86b1-90c5b088a64c

Here, we present a comprehensive traits database for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland. The database covers 968 species in 21 families. Ecological traits fall into four main categories: life cycle ecology and phenology, host plant specificity and characteristics, breeding habitat, and morphological characteristics. The database also contains data regarding species distribution, conservation status, and temporal trends for abundance and occupancy. This database can be used for a wide array of purposes including further fundamental research on species and community responses to environmental change, conservation and management studies, and evolutionary biology. A more recent version of the dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.5285/33a66d6a-dd9b-4a19-9026-cf1ffb969cdb entitled 'Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2022'. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/5b5a13b6-2304-47e3-9c9d-35237d1232c6

This dataset provides linear trends, over varying time periods, for the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) Collated Indices of individual butterfly species across the UK. The main statistical values derived from a linear regression (slope, standard error, P-value) are presented for the entire time series for each species (1976 to 2011), for the last 20 years, and for the last decade. In addition a trend class, based on slope direction and its significance, and a percentage change for that time period are provided to describe the statistical trends. These trend data are provided for 59 UK butterfly species. Trends across different time series allow us to determine the long and short-term trends for individual species. This is enables us to focus conservation and research and also to assess species responses to conservation already in place. The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and Butterfly Conservation (BC) are responsible for the calculation and interpretation of this trend datasets. The collection of the underlying UKBMS data is reliant on a large volunteer community. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is funded by a consortium of organisations led by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). This dataset is updated annually and a more recent version of the UKBMS species trends (2012) is now available. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/cad2af6c-0c97-414c-8d5f-992741b283cf