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/dbc7cc17-cbbd-49dd-bab4-8e8855768d66 entitled 'Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024'. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/15bbb76b-233f-4b6b-a550-c5b72c8ddbb5

These databases contain collated trait data for 925 species of macro- and micro-moths recorded on the Landscape-scale Species monitoring of Agri-Environment Schemes (LandSpAES) project, on farmland in six regions of England (The Fens, High Weald, South Suffolk / North Essex, Warwickshire, Yorkshire Dales, Dartmoor) during 2017-2021. The traits collated include life cycle ecology and phenology, conservation status and relative abundance, host plant specificity and characteristics, adult feeding, pupal habitat, breeding habitat, and morphological characteristics. Broader categories, such as breeding habitat, are also split into sub-categories. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/8f9bb7c8-42b6-46f3-9718-84755810be7a

A collection of six morphometric measurements (forewing length, body length, thorax length, thorax width, abdomen length, and abdomen width) relating to the 177 macro-moth species sampled by two Rothamsted Insect Survey (RIS) light traps (Bentley Wood and Porton Down III) from 33 days across 2017 (11-14 & 31 May; 1, 14-21 & 25-27 June; and 1-11, 17-18, and 24-26 July). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/3a813bd9-59ae-476e-a170-ab83fe1587b2

Estimated species richness data for valuation of biodiversity across the UK, based on species occurrence records for 11 taxonomic groups (Bees, Birds, Bryophytes, Butterflies, Carabidae, Hoverflies, Isopoda, Ladybirds, Moths, Orthoptera and Vascular plants). UK species occurrence data were collated from the Biological Records Centre (BRC) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Estimated species richness was calculated across all taxonomic groups for two time periods: 1970-1990 and 2000-2013. The dataset was used to create the "UK ecological status map version 2". Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/6c535793-034d-4c4f-8a00-497315e7d689

A spatial indicator of ecological status for valuation of biodiversity across the UK, based on species occurrence records for eleven taxonomic groups (Bees, Birds, Bryophytes, Butterflies, Carabidae, Hoverflies, Isopoda, Ladybirds, Moths, Orthoptera and Vascular plants) was developed. UK species occurrence data were collated from the Biological Records Centre (BRC). The mean ecological status was calculated across all taxonomic groups for the 2000 to 2013 time period, relative to the species richness maximums from the 1970-1990 time period. This version supersedes the dataset "UK ecological status map". Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/58b248a8-6e34-4ffb-ae32-3744566399a2