{"id":2241775,"date":"2026-11-06T12:33:33","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T09:33:33","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-11-06T12:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T09:33:33","slug":"record-sightings-of-rare-moth-in-glen-affric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2241775","title":{"rendered":"Record sightings of rare moth in Glen Affric"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/d1dd\/live\/7800ce60-d9db-11f1-b4ca-fd31344b71b9.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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\"FLSFLS<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The Affric Twitcher moth is one of the rarest in the UK<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A record number of sightings have been made of a moth that is found almost exclusively in Glen Affric in the Highlands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Affric Twitcher, also known by its scientific name Choreutis diana, is one of the UK’s rarest species of moth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A local recorder, Mike Taylor, saw 43 adult moths during a two-day visit to the glen – the highest number for the area since records began in 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), which manages woodland in Glen Affric, said the sightings highlighted the importance of protecting biodiversity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Staff and volunteers from Butterfly Conservation also recorded 111 silk structures called larval spinnings in the area. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Patrick Cook, from the organisation, said: “The Affric Twitcher depends on native birch woodland, where its larvae feed on leaves and create distinctive canoe-shaped silken shelters known as spinnings”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"FLSFLS<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Glen Affric is home to areas of native Caledonian Forest<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Surveys were conducted in parts of Glen Affric, which has areas of surviving native Caledonian Forest, including around Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Evidence of the moth was found in new areas and its range is believed to have doubled in two years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Shona Amos, an FLS environmental forester, said deer management, removal of non-native plants and regeneration of birch woodland had played a part in helping the moth and other wildlife.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c977pmgzlxeko”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/d1dd\/live\/7800ce60-d9db-11f1-b4ca-fd31344b71b9.jpg”] FLS The Affric Twitcher moth is one of the rarest in the UK A record number of sightings have been made of a moth that is found almost exclusively in Glen Affric in the Highlands. The Affric Twitcher, also known by its scientific name Choreutis diana, is one of the UK’s rarest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2241775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2241775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241775\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2241775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2241775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2241775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}