New UK moth record at Wicken Fen
Wicken Fen facts
- The fenland habitat of Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve is 255 hectares (630 acres)
- The National Trust has been managing Wicken Fen since 1899. Wicken Fen was the Trust’s first nature reserve.
- The National Trust launched the Wicken Vision to make the nature reserve bigger for wildlife and people. Since the start of the Vision in 1999 the National Trust has been able to more than double the size of Wicken Fen to 666 hectares (1645 acres)
- There are over 2500 moth species in Britain, in contrast to just 56 species of butterfly.
- Wicken Fen is today enjoyed by more than 40,000 visitors a year, including local school groups, families and conservationists.
Stuart Warrington, the National Trust’s Regional Nature Conservation Adviser for the East of England, says, ‘The circumstances of the moth’s presence at Wicken Fen remain unknown but it could have been blown across to Wicken Fen from mainland Europe, moved northwards because of climate change or it might even have been living at Wicken Fen for many years.’
Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire is one of the most important nature reserves in Britain, as it is one of just four surviving fragments of the once extensive fenland that stretched from Cambridge to the Wash. The National Trust has been looking after Wicken Fen since 1899, when it bought its first 2 acres. In 1999 the National Trust launched its 100 year Wicken Vision to acquire more land for the benefit of wildlife and improve access for visitors.
Because of the close proximity to Cambridge University and as the fen is famous for its rare insects and plants, Wicken Fen has developed into one of the best studied nature reserves in Britain. The reserve is known to support a staggering 7,000 species, which includes 1,800 flies and 1,400 beetles and 1,000 species of moths.
