Moth species found in Wales travelled 4,500 miles from South American jungle

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It is believed two clearwing moths accidentally hitched a ride when they were still larvae inside a photographer’s boot bag, travelling 4,500 miles from a tropical jungle in Guyana before ending up in Port Talbot. “For me, finding a new moth was exciting enough but at this point, I had no idea it was so unusual.” open image in gallery The new species of clearwing moth from Guyana discovered in Wales To find out more about the strange moths, Ms Cadet decided to post photos on Instagram stories when a follower got in touch to say it did not look like a known UK species. Ms Cadet 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.” Through DNA analysis, the scientists confirmed the moths were not only a non-UK species, they were also previously unknown to science. “They are even more difficult to rear from larvae or pupae, which usually dry out or go mouldy within a few days of collection.” He said the chances of two clearwing moths from tropical jungles of South America “successfully emerging in South Wales, over three months after they arrived, in cold Welsh winter, and being preserved in good condition, is extraordinary”.