Moth capital

ALDERNEY is the moth capital of the UK, according to a new survey.

A moth count survey was published by Butterfly Conservation, the study covering moth species recorded in every 10sq. km of the British Isles.

Alderney, in top place, is followed by Dungeness in Kent and Dorchester, in Dorset.

Naturalist David Wedd, who leads the AWT youth group Watch, said the wide diversity of habitat in the island played a big part in its success.

'We do have an advantage in that our island has virtually every type of habitat in its small area, whereas most can only offer one type,' he said. 'We are also very near the Continent, so get numerous migrants from across the Race and even some from Africa.

'Nonetheless, it is quite an achievement and has entailed a lot of study and recording.'

Alderney is home to many very-rare moths, as well as butterflies, dragonflies, beetles and shield bugs, some of which have yet to appear on the UK mainland.

'Many are found by day, but a lot of the moth records come from the light traps which are run at weekends in gardens around the island, many of them by youngsters from the Wildlife Trust's Watch group,' said Mr Wedd.

An usual recent find, he said, had been the Lunar Hornet Moth – one of the most famous of all insect mimics.

'In the past few days three of these spectacular insects have been found in Watch's new Jubilee Garden,' said Mr Wedd. 'They are a huge size but they are completely harmless.'

An Alderney aficionado has produced a DVD entitled Battleship Islands: Alderney, about the island's plentiful fortifications.

Alberto Tabone has a passion for such structures and knew the Channel Islands had been fortified by occupying Germans. He decided to try to make a film about fortifications, researched what was where, came to visit Alderney – and was blown away by its bunker-studded landscape.

'I got curious about it, stacked every kind of book I could about the island into my studio and scoured the web,' he said.

'I liked the fact that the bunkers were not restored but left exactly as they were after the war, which to me is far more meaningful.

'The Victorian forts, the slave labour and the Roman history of the Nunnery added another layer of history,' he added. 'What was also amazing was the fact that it appeared that nobody had made a documentary about it – so I just I went for it, hoping to fill a gap.

'I am pleased to have paid a decent tribute to the history of Alderney.'

Battleship Islands: Alderney is available at the museum, The Bookshop, the Alderney Centre and the airport in Alderney and at Guernsey Museums and the Information Centre, the Press Bookshop and the German Military Hospital in Guernsey.