Rare moth in Orchard makes global news

Last week, a nationally rare Dark Crimson Underwing turned up in Coton Orchard. It was deftly apprehended by Ben Greig of On The Verge and Lois Clarke of the Cambridge Moth Group, in one of their regular moth-trapping sessions. As well as setting the local moth-ers aflutter and being featured in the Cambridge Independent (see below), the news caught the attention of the BBC and also the Guardian, where it attracted so much attention that the piece was elevated to Guardian World. True to form, the GCP are reportedly unmoved, and their comment includes some extremely misleading information, such as the assertion that it's 'mostly young trees on dwarf rootstock' that would be lost. The reality is that busway will destroy the oldest and most ecologically valuable section of the planting, including a Champion Bramley.

Sadly, a single moth, however rare and exciting, is unlikely to swing the case on its own. But it's yet another rarity added to a growing list that evidences the wealth of species and the enormous ecological resources that will be lost – and that no amount of so-called mitigation will be able to replace.