A British conservationist who dedicated more than two decades to tracking down one of England’s most elusive moths has finally found one.
Dr Dave Wainwright, who works for Butterfly Conservation, uncovered the colony of dark-bordered beauty moths at the National Trust’s Wallington Estate near Morpeth, Northumberland.
It is only the second known English site for the custard and chocolate-coloured day-flying insect.
The find has been hailed as a major breakthrough for the species, which was previously thought to exist at just one location in England, Strensall Common in North Yorkshire, alongside two small Scottish populations on Deeside and Speyside.
The sole English population at Strensall Common has been in sharp decline, with numbers plummeting from hundreds of moths two decades ago to scarcely double figures last year, according to Butterfly Conservation.
Climate change has compounded the threat, increasing the frequency of drought and wildfire at the North Yorkshire nature reserve, which is jointly managed by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the Ministry of Defence.
A fire that swept through part of the common last year left the moth’s prospects even more precarious.
The species, once found widely across northern England and Scotland, has suffered severe losses driven by habitat destruction. Its survival is further complicated by the fact that its caterpillars feed exclusively on just two plants: aspen and creeping willow.
Dr Dave Wainwright who has discovered a second site
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Dr Wainwright had been hunting for new English colonies of the moth since joining Butterfly Conservation in 2004, conducting searches both professionally and in his spare time.
His first visit to the Wallington Estate that same year proved fruitless. “I looked at that site in 2004 and it was quite heavily grazed and wasn’t in the right condition for dark bordered beauty,” he said.
In the intervening years, however, the landscape underwent a remarkable transformation. The National Trust and its tenant farmer adopted nature-friendly farming practices, cutting back livestock grazing in critical areas and carrying out peatland restoration work.
“This time the site looked a hell of a lot better — really lush vegetation with lots of wildflowers,” Dr Wainwright said.
A dark bordered beauty moth colony was found at the National Trust´s Wallington Estate
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Dr Wainwright said: “It only took 10 minutes to find the first one, then we all started picking them up quite regularly. I think the others were excited, but perhaps not as excited as I was.”
He described the moment as “one of the highlights of my career,” though he admitted he had not anticipated success after years of fruitless searches elsewhere.
“I was hopeful, I’m always hopeful, but I definitely didn’t expect it because I’ve been to so many sites to look for this species over the years, so my heart and my head were in two different places.”
“Overwhelmingly it was just a feeling of relief that we weren’t just fighting the fight at one site any more,” he added.
The only site where the moth was found in England was at Strensall Common in Yorkshire
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Emily Johnson, ranger at Wallington, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to find that Wallington is a stronghold for such a rare species. We have been working hard to manage the land better for nature, and it seems to be paying off.”
The Northumberland habitat differs markedly from Strensall Common, experts have been forced to reconsider what constitutes suitable territory for the species.
Dr Wainwright noted that previously overlooked locations now warrant investigation.
He said: “The thing that’s kept me going all these years is I always felt there was a chance of finding Dark Bordered Beauty on the Northumberland/Cumbria border, now it feels like there could be other colonies out there waiting to be discovered which would be brilliant.”