Success surveying Sussex Emerald

By Rebecca Levey, Kent’s Magnificent Moths Conservation Officer

A collaborative search with Sussex Wildlife Trust and Butterfly Conservation’s Kent’s Magnificent Moths Project has discovered two Sussex Emerald caterpillars at Rye Harbour Reserve. This is significantly their first and only known breeding site in Sussex. This new population was only discovered in 2021 and couldn’t be re-found in 2022, so seeing caterpillars this year and in a new area of the reserve confirms they are still here and are spreading.

These caterpillars feed on Wild Carrot, which is a common wildflower, so why isn’t Sussex Emerald common too? This moth has a restricted range because their caterpillars are very sensitive to weather conditions. They would drown on sites that get flooded, so they can only successfully breed on very warm, free-draining sites, with just enough nutrients to support the wildflower they need.

Wild Carrot seeds were specifically scattered across vegetated shingle areas in previous years at Rye Harbour Reserve to create ideal Sussex Emerald habitat areas. This moth will be monitored annually, and breeding areas will be managed to encourage them to stay.

This project was made possible thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.