Reintroduction of the netted carpet moth Eustroma reticulatum to Derwentwater, The Lake District, The Lake District, Cumbria, England, 2006 to 2008

The Derwentwater colonies of netted carpet were among the earliest reported in Britain (c.1897) and they were recorded intermittently until the 1990’s. Since the late 1980’s there was a 56% decline in stands of the larval foodplant, probably related to a run of very mild winters leading to poor germination. Reduction in the abundance of Touch-me-not balsam inevitably led to a crash of netted carpet moth numbers and, despite annual searches, none had been seen at this location since 1999. For this reason, a reintroduction and reinforcement project was set up to in Derwentwater to increase population size and restore colonies of netted carpet in the area.