A RARE moth which changes colour has been found on a site next to a railway line.
The Jersey Tiger moth, which changes from red to black and white, has found an unlikely home in the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve, next to a railway line in Forest Hill.
In flight the moth, which has a stronghold in the Channel Islands and the south coast, resembles a Painted Lady butterfly.
But when it settles it suddenly appears black with delicate white stripes.
The discovery was made by workers at the nature reserve, who have been left wondering why the moth has settled so far away from its normal habitat.
Wayne Butler, from Lewisham Council's nature conservation service, said: "I was gobsmacked when I saw it. There is now a healthy breeding colony of Jersey Tiger moths here.
"When I checked its distribution it appears the moth homes in Devonshire, Dorset and Cornwall and now, oddly, Lewisham."
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