Species of moth - new to science - found at Hembury Woods

A moth previously unknown to science has been discovered at the National Trust’s Hembury Woods in Devon.


With the well-documented loss of British wildlife, this discovery of a new species of micro moth is even more significant given that it has been found nowhere else in the world.

This find was made by local amateur naturalist Bob Heckford. Bob has known Hembury Woods for years, and spotted the unusual bright green caterpillars of this tiny leaf-mining moth on oak saplings.

Matthew Oates, Nature Conservation Adviser at the National Trust, said: “We hear so much about the losses to the natural world, and less about the gains; which makes this find, however small, so important. Amateur naturalists have a wonderful window on the wildlife world and nature continues to amaze us and throw up surprises even in the UK.”

The moths themselves are so tiny – with a wingspan of about 6mm – that you’d have to be sharp-eyed to see them. In fact, what Bob first spotted in Hembury Woods were the tell-tale signs of mines made by the caterpillars in oak leaves. He subsequently found a few more of these caterpillars nearby.

This year, this micro moth has officially been recognised as a new species, and named after the man who discovered it – Ectoedemia heckfordi.

This find is important because one the specimens is now acknowledged by the scientific world as the ‘type’ for that species, against which any future finds will be compared and then determined.

Given the scientific value of this micro moth, a specimen will be added to world famous collection at the Natural History Museum in London. Equally importantly this find makes Hembury Woods the ‘type’ locality.

The woods near Buckfastleigh are a wildlife hot spot. The River Dart runs through the dense oak woodland, which is rich in wild flowers such as bluebells and primroses, and a special site for moths and butterflies.

Since Bob’s early days in the South West he’s had a keen interest in the natural world. He has been the first to find other micro moth species that were previously unknown in the British Isles, including one on National Trust’s land in Cornwall: and in 2006 he rediscovered an oil beetle on National Trust land in south Devon that was thought to be extinct in the British Isles.

In this the International Year of Biodiversity, it is important to pay credit to dedicated amateur naturalists such as him – the often unsung heroes of the natural world.

Matthew Oates continued: “In the UK we have some of the finest naturalists in the world and there is a real need to encourage this deep-rooted tradition of discovery in children and adults.

“This discovery was really a needle in a haystack find and it gives us a tempting insight into what might still be out there.”

This spring and summer, there are events at National Trust properties right across the country that will reveal the wealth of our hidden nature, and bring out the wild side in everyone.

Find out more at http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wildchild