Friday, April 30, 2010
New moth species discovered in UK
10:54 AM | 
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Updated at: 1042 PST, Friday, April 30, 2010
LONDON: A new species of tiny moth has been discovered by an amateur naturalist who spotted its caterpillar digging through an oak leaf.
The 'micro' moth, which has a wingspan of just 6mm (0.24 inches), was discovered in Hembury Woods in Devon by local naturalist Bob Heckford who noticed tell-tale signs of 'mines' dug through the leaves of oak saplings.
The new species has not been found anywhere else in the world and has been named Ectoedemia heckfordi after Mr Heckford.
One of the specimens has been acknowledged as the 'type' for the species, against which future finds will be compared, and because of the discovery's important another has been sent to the Natural History Museum.
The amateur naturalist has found other micro moth species which were previously unknown in the UK and in 2006 found an oil beetle in south Devon which was thought to be extinct in the British Isles.
LONDON: A new species of tiny moth has been discovered by an amateur naturalist who spotted its caterpillar digging through an oak leaf.The 'micro' moth, which has a wingspan of just 6mm (0.24 inches), was discovered in Hembury Woods in Devon by local naturalist Bob Heckford who noticed tell-tale signs of 'mines' dug through the leaves of oak saplings.
The new species has not been found anywhere else in the world and has been named Ectoedemia heckfordi after Mr Heckford.
One of the specimens has been acknowledged as the 'type' for the species, against which future finds will be compared, and because of the discovery's important another has been sent to the Natural History Museum.
The amateur naturalist has found other micro moth species which were previously unknown in the UK and in 2006 found an oil beetle in south Devon which was thought to be extinct in the British Isles.
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