One of Britain’s most beautiful and scarce species of moth, thought only to be found in the Channel Islands and parts of the south coast, has chosen to settle down by the side of a London railway track.
The colourful day-flying Jersey Tiger Moth, or Euplagia quadripunctaria, has set up an unlikely breeding colony at the side of a railway track in Forest Hill, Lewisham.
The piece of land called The Devonshire Road Nature Reserve is maintained by Lewisham Council's Nature Conservation Service, who made the surprising discovery.
Cllr Heidi Alexander, Deputy Mayor of Lewisham and the Cabinet Member for Environment, said: 'They're so colourful, not how you would imagine moths to be at all. I am delighted they've decided to make the borough their home.'
In flight the Tiger Moth resembles the distinctive painted lady butterfly, but once settled they suddenly appear black with delicate white striping.
Wayne Butler from the Nature Conservation Service, who has been working on the reserve, has been left scratching his head as to why the colony should have settled in an area so far from their usual habitat.
One theory which is gaining credence among local environmentalists is that the moths and other creatures may be using the railway line as a natural corridor from their native south coast.
The Devonshire Road Nature Reserve is narrow strip of land by a railway line that reaches into some of the most densely populated urban areas in the borough.
Lewisham Council founded the reserve in 1981 as a sanctuary for wildlife in response to local residents' concerns over British Rail's tree felling in the area.
Local ecologist are particularly excited about evidence confirming that these 'visitors' are indeed laying down roots as breeding pairs have been spotted and photographed.