A previously unknown population of the dark bordered beauty moth, one of England’s rarest moths, has been found at Wallington estate in Northumberland, more than 70 years after it was last recorded there in 1952. The discovery offers renewed hope for the species, which had effectively been restricted to a declining population at Strensall Common in Yorkshire.

Butterfly Conservation’s Dr Dave Wainwright found a moth within minutes during a recent search, after looking for new English colonies since 2004. Habitat loss has severely reduced the species, whose caterpillars feed only on aspen and creeping willow; climate change and a wildfire have also affected the Yorkshire population. The National Trust plans to expand suitable habitat at Wallington, while the different conditions there suggest other undiscovered colonies may exist.