Moth community and parasitoid data from a hedgerow cutting regime experiment in Cambridgeshire, England, 2011

This dataset contains moth species, parasitoid and resource provisioning data from a hedgerow experiment investigating the long-term effects of timing and frequency of cutting on resource provision for wildlife. The experiment site was based at at Monks Wood, Cambridgeshire, UK. Moth larvae were collected in May to September 2011 and reared in a laboratory. Moth larvae or adult moths, and any emerging parasitoids, were identified to species level where possible. Data on hedge plot dimensions and branching density and length were measured in the field at the same time as moth larvae sampling. Leaf samples were also collected and used to calculate biomass and determine foliar total carbon and nitrogen content.

The hedgerow experiment was one of three long running hedgerow experiments focusing on management to maintain and restore the hedgerow resource under agri-environment schemes. These long running experiments were funded by Defra and managed by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.