Only 28 of the little Batia lunaris have even been spotted in Gloucestershire in the past 15 years until last month when one was seen in Bisley Road Cemetery.
Another which is normally found near the south and south-east coasts was spotted, making it only the seventh Sitochroa palealis to be recorded in the county since 2000.
The creatures were discovered during a moth survey and workshop held by the Gloucestershire Butterfly Conservation group in conjunction with the town council. It was organised by Stroud Valleys Project.
Bob Smith, from the group, said he netted some of the moths whilst looking for butterflies. Others were carefully caught in moth traps, including another tiny variety which is believed to be Cochylis flaviciliana.
“Only seven of these have previously been recorded in Gloucestershire, one of them was in my garden,” he said. “We also found a Platyptilia pallidactyla of which we’ve only seen one other in the Stroud area since 2000.”
The Town Council’s team is responsible for a number of green spaces, including Bank Gardens and the old and new cemeteries off Bisley Road.
The old cemetery is one of only a handful in the country that is classified as a nature reserve. Grass is kept long in the summer to encourage wildlife such as insects, reptiles and birds.
The council’s green spaces manager Jim Mathison said: “A lot more moths were found than we previously had listed. It has been really great to do some activities which reinforce the nature reserve status of the cemetery.”
