Rare moth thriving at Northern Ireland training centre

One of the UK’s rarest moths is healthy and thriving in the heart of a military training area in Northern Ireland, according to a recent survey.

The annual Scarce Crimson and Gold moth survey took place at Magilligan Training Centre, near Coleraine,County Londonderry.

Staff from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which runs the training area, welcomed the survey team to Magilligan

The survey team consisted of staff from the Northern Ireland branch of Butterfly Conservation and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, accompanied by a student from Coleraine University who is doing her final year project on the moth.

Catherine Bertrand, from Butterfly Conservation said:

“We’d like to thank the DIO staff at Magilligan Training Centre for allowing us access on to the training area to carry out our annual survey. The staff were, as ever, polite, friendly and very helpful.

“The finding and records from our survey have been sent to the Northern Irelandvolunteer moth verifier, who will add the records to the national database once they have been checked.”

The survey involved setting eight battery powered moth traps across the middle and eastern part of the training area.

Overnight, seven Scarce Crimson and Gold moths were trapped and, together with daytime searches, the survey team reported a healthy population. They also noted a large area of suitable habitat, making Magilligan Training Centre one of the ‘heartlands’ for this species.

Talking about the survey and the Crimson and Gold moth, Major Tony Canniford, Commander DIO Ops Training Northern Ireland, said:

“DIO’s main priority is to support our Armed Forces and their allies, as they prepare for operations. The military training estate is diverse in nature and not only does it offer the necessary conditions for soldiers to train, but also the conditions for a number of rare species of flora and fauna to thrive.

“The nature of Magilligan Training Centre means that it offers the ideal habitat for the Gold and Crimson moth to survive and flourish, and we are proud to be able to support the survey team in their work and protect this rare species.”

The Scarce Crimson and Gold is a tiny, brightly-coloured moth – one of the rarest in the UK. It flies throughout June and is only known to live in a handful of sites along the north coast of Northern Irelandand on one site on the Isle of Man. The moth requires wild Thyme for its caterpillars to feed on, and nectars on a variety of plants associated with the early successional stages of sandy dune blow-outs, especially Kidney Vetch.

Also observed during the survey were Cryptic Wood White butterfly, one of Northern Ireland’s Priority Species, and colonies of the Small Eggar, another priority moth species whose caterpillars create conspicuous, fist-sized webs on blackthorn, but which also has a very limited distribution in Northern Ireland.

Magilligan Training Centre is maintained by DIO, which delivers the Training Service, enabling Defence training users to live, work, train and deploy at home and overseas. 

The training area is 3,000 acres, of which some 600 acres are set aside for military training without live ammunition. The land consists mostly of sand dunes and grazing land set in the most dramatic scenery along the north coast.

Ends

Further information:

Press enquiries to Tony Moran, Communications Manager 0121 311 3879 or email tony.moran572@mod.uk

DIO website: www.gov.uk/dio

Notes to Editors

1.       The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is part of the MOD. We are responsible for managing and maintaining land and properties, as well as providing related support services, to meet the current and future needs of the MOD and personnel at home and abroad, and to support current operations.

2.       Our work includes providing, supporting and improving: operational units; single living and service family accommodation; training areas and historic military sites. DIO actively manages these and supporting services, such as soft facilities management and guarding, to ensure the needs of Defence are met, value for money is achieved, heritage protected and environmental goals achieved.

3.       Picture Caption: The Scarce Crimson and Gold moth

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