Clearwing moths are notoriously difficult to find
A photographer accidentally brought a new type of moth to the UK in her suitcase. The moth had travelled thousands of miles from South America. Scientists were surprised to find it in Wales.
The moth, which has been named Carmenta brachyclados, is a clearwing moth. It is native to Guyana, South America. The photographer had brought the moth’s larvae with her in her suitcase. The larvae had hatched and pupated in the suitcase during the journey. When the photographer arrived in the UK, the moths emerged from their cocoons.
The moths were discovered by a young ecologist named Daisy Cadet. Ms Cadet was surprised to find the moths in her mother’s home.
Daisy, 22, told BBC, “It wasn’t flying around at all – probably because the house was too cold at the time, and the other one next to it had already died. When I first saw them, I knew they were clearwings and assumed it was a UK species like the six-banded clearwing. For me, finding a new moth was exciting enough but at this point, I had no idea it was so unusual.”
Daisy posted photos of the moths on social media, and scientists from the Natural History Museum identified them as a new species.
Daisy said, “From there, it was a few months of email chains and wild-goose – or moth – chasing to work out what the moth was, and how it got to Wales.”
Mark Sterling, a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum in a press release said, “Clearwing moths are notoriously difficult to find, even by professional entomologists. They are even more difficult to rear from larvae or pupae, which usually dry out or go mouldy within a few days of collection.
“The chances of two clearwing moths from the Neotropics successfully emerging in South Wales, over three months after they arrived, in cold Welsh winter, and being preserved in good condition, is extraordinary.”
“The improbability of this event defies rational explanation. However, whilst in Guyana, Ashleigh was told that if she left an offering of tobacco to the jungle spirits she would be shown something beautiful from the jungle, so that is what she did. We conclude in the paper that it must have been very good tobacco.”
Dr David Lees, Senior Curator for Microlepidoptera at the Natural History Museum, added: “To add to the improbability of this story is the fact that due to the incredible piece of community science from Daisy, we have photographs of a living holotype (an original specimen which forms the basis of the name and description of that species), which is highly unusual.”