As part of its ongoing work to scale up biodiversity monitoring and improve insect monitoring, UKCEH has entered into a new licensing agreement with Bristol-based biodiversity technology start-up company Wilder Sensing. The partnership highlights how collaboration between research organisations and innovative UK businesses can accelerate the adoption of environmental technologies to meet growing demand for reliable biodiversity data.
The agreement allows the technology and intellectual property from the UKCEH developed LepiSense system to be built into Wilder Sensing’s MothSense tool, part of its growing biodiversity monitoring platform. This helps organisations access high-quality, auditable biodiversity data for environmental management, infrastructure projects, nature recovery programmes and emerging nature markets.
Geoff Carss, Chief Executive of Wilder Sensing said, "Combining UKCEH's scientific leadership with Wilder Sensing's expertise in deployment, data delivery and commercial scale-up creates a powerful opportunity to transform how biodiversity is monitored. We are excited to work together to make our monitoring products accessible to more organisations seeking robust, scalable biodiversity evidence."
Dr Tom August, Technology for nature team lead at UKCEH said, "This partnership shows how UKCEH research can be translated into real-world impact. By combining scientific innovation with commercial expertise, we can expand the reach of biodiversity monitoring and strengthen the evidence base for nature recovery."
MothSense, built on research from by UKCEH scientists, including Dr Tom August, Professor David Roy, Dr Jonas Beuchert and Professor Richard Pywell, is an innovative AI-enabled technology that captures images to identify and monitor nocturnal insects, particularly moths, at scale. Built on pioneering research into automated biodiversity monitoring, it will remain a key part of UKCEH's scientific capabilities while supporting collaborations with government, industry and environmental organisations to make biodiversity Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) more accessible across the UK and beyond.
Why moths matter
Moths are one of the most diverse groups of insects. They play vital ecological roles as pollinators, provide food for birds, bats and other wildlife, and respond rapidly to changes in habitat quality, climate and land management.
Because moth communities reflect the condition of wider ecosystems, they are increasingly recognised as important bioindicators for measuring biodiversity change and assessing the effectiveness of nature recovery interventions. Automated monitoring of moths can therefore provide robust evidence to support biodiversity monitoring, reporting and verification at scale.
