Y oh Y on such a cold night!
One evening this week I arrived home and there was a moth flying around the outside light. It was a particularly cold evening and it surprised me that a moth would be out and about. I managed to get a photo and identified it as a Silver Y.
I was surprised to learn that this is actually a migrant species, arriving in great numbers from the Continent in spring and late summer. I found reference to one Entomologist from Essex who caught 7,398 Silver Y attracted to his moth light in a single night.
The early migrants give rise to a second generation in the autumn so I am assuming this is one of those? Neither the moths or their caterpillars will survive the British winter, and the first frosts can start to finish them off.
What I liked about this species is the characteristic 'y' on the fore wing which can be read either as a Y or the Greek letter gamma (y). At 3.5 -5cm, this small but active moth feeds on the flowers of Clover, Teasel, Buddlea, Heather and Valerian. It certainly caught my attention when I got home.
I was surprised to learn that this is actually a migrant species, arriving in great numbers from the Continent in spring and late summer. I found reference to one Entomologist from Essex who caught 7,398 Silver Y attracted to his moth light in a single night.
The early migrants give rise to a second generation in the autumn so I am assuming this is one of those? Neither the moths or their caterpillars will survive the British winter, and the first frosts can start to finish them off.
What I liked about this species is the characteristic 'y' on the fore wing which can be read either as a Y or the Greek letter gamma (y). At 3.5 -5cm, this small but active moth feeds on the flowers of Clover, Teasel, Buddlea, Heather and Valerian. It certainly caught my attention when I got home.
Silver Y showing the characteristic marking on the fore wing. Picture copyright Neville Davies.
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