Jenna and I visited a Butterfly Conservation moth event at Great Wood in Keswick, Cumbria, this morning.
Our main target was the Netted Carpet Moth, which is extremely rare in England and likely survives in only a few locations in Cumbria and North Lancashire. We were fortunate that one had been trapped overnight and was visible as soon as we arrived at the event.
Netted Carpet
The caterpillars of this moth exclusively feed on a rare plant known as Touch-me-not Balsam (Impatiens noli-tangere). This is the UK's only native balsam, featuring large, bright yellow flowers. It resembles the invasive Small Balsam (Impatiens parviflora), but the Small Balsam is shorter and has smaller, paler yellow flowers.
Touch-me-not Balsam
It's called "touch-me-not" because when you touch the plant's capsules, they explode and launch the seeds. For these seeds to grow successfully where they land, animals must disturb the soil, trample them in, and receive some dappled sunlight.
We added many new species to our life list as we opened the traps. See below:
White-pinion Spotted
Small Fan-footed Wave
Oak Hook-tip
Canary-shouldered Thorn
We had a lovely morning in an idyllic setting and then returned home to relax in the afternoon sun.
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