Drink cider and help the Mistletoe Marble moth this Christmas

Moth experts are appealing to the public this Christmas to help save an endangered species by drinking British cider. The moth, a threatened species which feeds on Mistletoe, is confined to a few sites in Somerset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Monmouthshire.

A survey undertaken by Butterfly Conservation and the National Trust found the moth at 14 sites, including three National Trust sites. Significantly, the site found to support the most Mistletoe Marble moths during this survey was an actively managed cider orchard where Mistletoe is cropped or harvested in the winter. A possible explanation for the decline of this moth is that Mistletoe cropping was too extensive in recent years. This would have substantially reduced the available food source for the moth and therefore is a significant threat to the already scarce Mistletoe Marble. Additionally, whilst the Mistletoe Marble was found at a few neglected orchards with a limited number of healthy trees there is a concern that these colonies are threatened as no new tree planting is taking place.

Mark Parsons, Head of Moth Conservation at Butterfly Conservation, said: “It is fabulous to have found the moth at several sites, but worrying that it was not refound at some former localities. This moth is yet another reason to support British apple growers and to reverse the decline in traditional orchards.” Kate Merry (National Trust, Orchard Project Officer) said: "Measured, sustainable harvesting of Mistletoe from traditional orchards means a healthy tree, a habitat for this beautiful rare moth and a few festive kisses for us too. Please spread the word this Christmas!"

OTHER NOTES:

The Mistletoe Marble moth is one of many moths which are under threat. Moths are a vital part of nature’s food chain. They pollinate flowers and provide food for birds, bats and hedgehogs. A recent study identified a decline by nearly one third in the British moth population, with just over 60 species becoming extinct in the last 100 years.

The Mistletoe Marble Celypha woodiana was named after Dr John Henry Wood who found the first examples, previously unknown to science, in Herefordshire in 1878.

The moth is single-brooded, the larva burrows into a leaf of Mistletoe Viscum album and overwinters in a small, crescent-shaped mine. In early spring this mine is extended eventually forming an inflated pale blister. It feeds solely within one leaf.

The adult moth flies in July and August. Although chiefly found in orchards, the moth is also found on Mistletoe in hedgerows on grazing levels.

Mistletoe supports a specialised community of other invertebrates, including a weevil Ixapion variegatum, the Jumping Plant Louse Psylla visci, the capsid bug Pinalitus visciola, and the true bugs Anthocoris visci and Hypseloecus visci.

A factsheet on the moth has been produced for site owners/land managers by Butterfly Conservation, see: http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/downloads/41/priority_species_factsheets.html