Wallace's 170-year-old moth rediscovery helps identify 11 new species

A battered moth that had spent decades overlooked in the Natural History Museum's collection has helped scientists identify 11 species previously unknown to science. The tiny specimen was collected in Sarawak, Borneo, by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace around 1855-1856, but its significance went unnoticed for generations.

Consisting of little more than a thorax and a pair of wings, it had even been dismissed by an earlier expert as unworthy of further attention. Modern DNA sequencing and research into its original labels eventually revealed its identity, allowing scientists to revive an entire moth genus.Alfred Russel Wallace's forgotten moth was found among millions of museum specimensThe discovery came while Natural History Museum scientific associate Mark Sterling and senior curator Dr David Lees were examining a collection of small, snow-white moths from Southeast Asia.

They were investigating several specimens that appeared to represent previously undescribed species when an old, damaged moth became central to their research.