The Blair's shoulder-knot moth is harmless

Butterfly Conservation Scotland said the insect has been spotted the further north than ever before and may even have reached the Highlands.

The moth was seen in West Fife, which is next to Mr Brown's constituency.

Butterfly and moth expert Dr Tom Prescott said climate change may be driving the insect's expansion.

Changes in what plants are grown in people's gardens also appears to have had an impact as it likes to breed in ornamental varieties of certain conifers.

It is another species of moth that is doing very well in moving north by responding to climate change Dr Tom Prescott Butterfly Conservation Scotland

The moth - which is mainly greyish in colour - originates from Europe.

Dr Prescott said: "There's little doubt that Blair's shoulder-knot will be in Mr Brown's constituency soon and it's likely to colonise the area just as it has elsewhere.

"It is totally harmless."

He added: "Because we have so few people looking out for the moth, it could be further north and already in the Highlands.

"It is another species of moth that is doing very well in moving north by responding to climate change."

The first British sighting of the autumn-flying moth was on the Isle of Wight in 1951. It takes its name from entomologist Dr K G Blair, who spotted it.

The moth was first seen in Scotland in 2000.

It was one of the hot topics at Butterfly Conservation Scotland's first ever member's day held at the Birnam Institute, Birnam in Perthshire.

More than 100 people attended and heard that climate change was the key reason why new butterfly and moth species were being found in Scotland.

Dr Prescott said moths were highly sensitive and respond to change more quickly than most wildlife.