Elusive Little Thorn moth reappears after 150 years

BACK IN BATTLE: The Little Thorn Moth Picture: Les Hill, Butterfly Conservation

June 2010: A beautiful British moth that scientists thought must be extinct, has been spotted in East Sussex - in the very woods where it was first recorded 150 years ago.

Despite repeated searches in Battle Great Wood since then the Little Thorn Moth has remained elusive, leading experts to reluctantly conclude that it must no longer exist in the area.

The Little Thorn is a small yellow-brown moth that could easily be mistaken for a butterfly because it flies during the day-time and rests with its wings held partly open over its back. It was first recorded in Sussex by entomologist Henry Cooke on June 4, 1851, at Battle Great Wood. Since then there have been only a handful of sightings in East Sussex and only three sightings in the past 50 years, none near Battle.

The moth was rediscovered at Battle Great Wood this May by Jim Barrett, a local butterfly recorder who only took up moth-recording this year. ‘I was amazed to learn that I had found a moth that was believed extinct in East Sussex,' said Jim. ‘Maybe it's beginner's luck?'

Rother is an important area for moths

The moth survey at Battle was part of the Rother Woods Project, a three-year project run by the charity Butterfly Conservation and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to find and conserve butterflies and moths in the Rother District.

Steve Wheatley of Butterfly Conservation said: ‘We've surveyed more than 50 woods in Rother over the past three years and we've found some fantastic moths but never the Little Thorn. It's amazing to finally find the moth at the site of its original discovery more than 150 years later.

‘Rother is a particularly important area for moths with more than 20 nationally scarce species recorded in local woodlands since 2008. Moths are an excellent indicator of habitat health and we're working with many local woodland owners to ensure this rich biodiversity is conserved.'

Butterfly Conservation is inviting people to join them on a further Little Thorn search at Battle Great Wood today to coincide with the anniversary of its original discovery.