AN ENDANGERED moth has been discovered at Dorset’s Moors Valley Country Park.
Park rangers were joined by members of the public, volunteers and identification experts for a full day of species recording as part of the national BioBlitz programme. Amongst the tally of birds, bees, insects and mammals were more than 100 moths, one of which, the Dingy Mocha, appears on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and international Red List of endangered species. The event was organised by Moors Valley’s sustainability champion assistant ranger, Sara Tschersich.
The Dingy Mocha moth was recorded by conservation ranger Robin Harley and moth expert Phil Budd.
A brief sighting of the notoriously shy water vole was caught on video by a trail camera trained on the Moors River, providing evidence of the success of the Park’s reintroduction programme.
BioBlitz organiser, Sara Tschersich, said: “A BioBlitz is a great way to appreciate the richness and variety of the wildlife in a particular area. Carried out on an annual basis, as we do at Moors Valley, it also helps to monitor the environmental health of the area being studied and identify changes over time.
“The Dingy Mocha moth is only found in Dorset and west Hampshire so it was particularly exciting to discover it at Moors Valley for the first time. The presence of water voles and Dingy Moths are good indicators of the success of our wildlife habitat management.”
More information on BioBlitz can be found at bnhc.org.uk/bioblitz
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