UK Nature and Environment

Leading wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is celebrating the discovery of a new breeding group of rare White-spotted Sable moth near Canterbury.

The exciting discovery was made by Butterfly Conservation staff and volunteers during a survey of Clowes Wood near Canterbury, Kent, in the summer.

The team were searching for the moth’s caterpillars in the woodland, which is owned by Forestry England, after extensive woodland management had enabled an important native plant to thrive.

The work to the woodland had resulted in the growth of Goldenrod, the sole foodplant of the White-spotted Sable moth caterpillars, which needs plenty of natural light to grow.

Rebecca Levey, Kent’s Magnificent Moths Conservation Officer at Butterfly Conservation, said: “As part of the Kent’s Magnificent Moths project, we have been working to protect and increase two populations of this rare moth in Kent, including one at Blean Woods National Nature Reserve, which is where we think the moths have travelled from.