DAY-FLYING MOTHS
MOTHS are generally thought of as night-flying insects, but there are many species which truly fly during the day, not including species that take flight when disturbed during the day. Out of the 1,600 or so “macro-moths” found in the UK, there are 133 species which are considered truly day flying. There are also many “micro-moths” which fly during the day but many can be difficult to identify. Moths are often considered second to butterflies in the beauty stakes, but this couldn’t be further from the truth!
One attractive day flying moth found in June and July is the cinnabar moth. It is declining in number making it a UK Biodiversity Action Plan target species. Both the adult moth and caterpillar are brightly coloured. This red and black adult moth is about 20mm long with a wingspan of 32mm42mm. It has two bright red spots and red stripes on its forewings and scarlet hind wings with charcoal edging. They are often disturbed from tall vegetation when resting. The distinctive yellow and black striped caterpillars can be often seen feeding on ragwort plants.
There are several other red and black moths which can be encountered in July and August; these are the burnet moths of which there are seven species in the UK. However, in Nottinghamshire only two species are likely to be spotted: Six-spot burnet and narrowbordered five-spot burnet. These can be seen in flowery grasslands as they move between knapweeds and thistles. Both species have a wingspan of 28-38mm and are glossy black, and as per their common names they have either six or five red spots on each forewing. There is another similar species, the five-spot burnet which is not found in Nottinghamshire. The caterpillars of both six-spot burnet and narrow-bordered five-spot burnet are slow growing and stop feeding prior to overwintering. They are fully grown by May or June when the mature caterpillars climb up stems and pupate, with the adults hatching in late June and into July.
Another species which can often be seen during the day, often nectaring on buddleia is the silver Y, a medium-sized moth with a wingspan of 30-45mm. The wings are intricately patterned with various shades of brown and grey providing excellent camouflage. It gets its common name from the metallic silvercoloured mark shaped like a letter Y in the centre of each forewing. The female lays her eggs on the underside of the leaves of low-lying vegetation such as brassicas and other cultivated vegetables along with a wide range of other plants including nettles, dock, dandelion, and clovers. The caterpillars are green with a darker green dorsal line and can be identified by only having two sets of prolegs and a rear clasper; this combination is limited to only a few UK species. Swarms appeared at the Euro 2016 Football Championships, and one moth was photographed drinking the sweat on the face of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in its search for “valuable” salts and minerals.
Do not dismiss moths as the poor relations of butterflies and keep a look-out during the day for the day-fliers and you may be surprised by the number you may see.