Rare migrant moth’s Swindon visit a Wiltshire first?

Our County Recorder for Macromoths, Marc Taylor, has told us about a surprise catch in his moth trap recently.

He was at first reluctant to believe it, then after careful checking his identification with other experts he confirmed his find as a Rannoch Looper moth, Itame brunneata

This day flying moth is usually restricted to old wooded areas in central Scotland with a good supply of its principal larval food plant, Bilberry.

For likely UK sightings the clue remains in the name, but sometimes migrants from the near continent make it as far as our eastern counties.

This sighting, right in the middle of Swindon, is thought to be a first for Wiltshire.

Marc has been monitoring the situation and believes something of an influx of rarer migrant species has been occurring this year.

As he found this individual in a built up area, he urges other moth spotters to keep trapping and looking out for the possibility of unusual species in the more rural parts of the county.

You can find out more about Wiltshire’s moths and visit the county recorders pages on our website by following this link.

You can also submit your records to us there, using our online recording form, or contact us if you need some help with a find you can't readily identify.

Another source of help with your identification is the UKmoths website on this link.