Enigma Moth

The Enigma moth is a new species of primitive moth which is known from just one discrete site on Kangaroo Island. It is the sole representative of a new family of primitive moths, the first discovered since the 1970s. Its discovery sparked an international scientific collaboration and it also received significant media attention after publicity by the CSIRO in March 2015.

Its distribution, some aspects of its biology and details of its interaction with a new species of wasp are yet to be determined. The urgency of the need to conserve this species was raised in Kristensen et al. (2015). This project seeks to address this through improving knowledge of its distribution and disseminating information of the discovery of this iconic insect locally as a means of raising awareness of the diversity and importance of invertebrates generally among the KI community. The ecosystem services that insects provide will be highlighted.

The conservation focus was driven by a previous scientific study (Kristensen et al. (2015) which sought to describe the moth (and family it represents) and to understand its placement in the evolutionary order of moths/butterflies. This proposal seeks to address obvious questions arising from that study such as Enigma moth distribution, and also to disseminate the story of its discovery and importance among the KI community. This proposal was developed in conjunction with the discoverer of the moth, and an author of the related science paper, Dr Richard Glatz.

As well, raising awareness in the community of the importance of biodiversity and connecting people to nature are key goals in the KI NRM Plan and the DEWNR Corporate Plan 2012-14.