The 20-year search for a vanishing custard-and-chocolate coloured moth

Yorkshire common was thought to be the only known site of dark bordered beauty moths in England – until now Vote here for your favourite invertebrate of the year Dave Wainwright first surveyed Wallington in Northumberland for a rare custard-and-chocolate coloured moth in 2004. He parked two miles from the site, hauled a moth trap across, and was bitten by a million flies. He did not find a single dark bordered beauty that night. The ground was heavily grazed by sheep, and the creeping willo...

By Safeerah Ahmed