Arran Ranger Service has received confirmation that a new species of moth has been found on Arran for the first time.
The moth, most commonly known as the Devon Carpet moth or the Lampropteryx Otregiata, was once a relatively scarce species, most commonly found in the south and south-west of England and south Wales.
In recent years there has been a considerable range expansion from the south-west which has seen this moth reported in numbers from Lancashire, Cumbria, Suffolk and several midland counties.
The species is new to Scotland and rangers were delighted to find out that the moth has made Scotland its new home, the furthest northern point that the species has ever reached.
There are two generations, with adults on the wing in May and June, then again in August and September.
The caterpillars are brown with paler buff markings, and feed on common marsh bedstraw and possibly also fen bedstraw.
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