A species of moth that was thought to be extinct and had not been seen for decades was rediscovered by researchers in a mountainous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Natural History Museum in the German city of Karlsruhe announced on Monday. Agerpres.

This species of moth – Lignyoptera Thaumastaria – was previously observed three times in the modern territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first half of the 20th century, the last time in 1937. It was also spotted once in Montenegro about 40 years ago.

There were fears that this species could disappear.

“The species lives at high altitudes and appears only after the first snow falls and then melts,” the German museum said in a press release. “The wings of the males are strikingly yellow with pink, while the flightless females have almost no wings.”

At the end of October, a group of experts led by butterfly specialist Robert Trush from the Natural History Museum in Karlsruhe went in search of this butterfly in Bosnia.

Why is this type of moth special?

According to the museum, they discovered both females and males of this species of moth in the Vlaich Mountains on the very first evening of the expedition.

Females cannot fly, and this fact, according to experts, helps them survive strong autumn storms in the mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

Unlike other moth species, this species is not particularly attracted to artificial light, researchers say.