The Lyons Share

I figured I wasn't keeping up to date without featuring a Rannoch Looper so here's one caught at Woods Mill at the weekend (thanks Penny!). It was handed to me in a pot so I won't be ticking it but I don't need to having seen them in Scotland! Anyway, I think it is very interesting listening to people discuss whether these are migrants or recently emerged offspring from last year's invasion. The simple answer, as far as I am concerned, is the precautionary principle must apply. Until larvae are discovered, any comments on them breeding are just conjecture. So my attitude towards these moths is 'migrants until proven otherwise'. The moth is known to feed on Bilberry which has a much more restricted distribution in Sussex than the sightings of Rannoch Looper. I appreciate that there is the possibility of it switching foodplants but this seems unlikely to me.