Barberry Carpet Pareulype berberata

The Barberry Carpet (Pareulype berberata) is a rare geometrid moth entirely dependent on native Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) as its larval foodplant. Following the widespread eradication of native Barberry in the twentieth century – driven by its role as an intermediate host of wheat stem rust – the moth declined to near-extinction in Britain. Concerted conservation efforts, including the planting of Barberry at key sites, have helped to stabilise and slowly recover populations in East Anglia. Suffolk and the surrounding region form the core of the species’ remaining British range, and the county’s conservation sites supporting established Barberry are of outstanding national importance. Image: © Alex Hyde / Back from the Brink.

Find out more: iNaturalist, UK Moths, Suffolk Moths