Wildlife lovers urged to check garden ivy for rare migrant moths
WILDLIFE LOVERS are being encouraged to take a “torchlight safari” to patches of late-flowering ivy to spot rare migrant moths which are flocking to the UK.
Unusual moths from Europe, including the scarce silverstriped hawk-moth and Radford’s flame shoulder, have been seen in recent days, along with immigrant species such as the convolvulus hawk-moth and the humming-bird hawk-moth.
And the Clifden nonpareil – a moth which has recently become established from Dorset to Kent – has seen numbers boosted by dozens of immigrants from the continent.
As part of this year’s Moth Night, an annual UK-wide event to record moth numbers, members of the public are being asked to check out patches of ivy after dark to count moths and help gather more information on the plant’s importance to the insects.
Ivy can provide a lifeline to moths, butterflies, bees and other pollinators as it flowers late in the year when other sources of nectar are not available, conservationists said.
And with warm weather from the continent expected in the next few days, a surge of migrant moths could join the autumnal species such as the pink-barred sallow and lunar underwing regularly seen refuelling on ivy blossom.
Common migrant species such as the silver Y moth could be seen feeding on ivy nectar to power flights southwards to warmer climates while ivy could also be important to overwintering moths such as the buttoned snout and red-green carpet to help build up fat reserves.
Moth Night is organised by Atropos, Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH).
CEH ecologist Marc Botham said: “There are a fantastic range of autumnal moths in the UK, a number of which are declining.”