Flies with the butterflies, looks like a bee
IT is perhaps a surprising fact, but we have more species of moth that fly in the day than we have butterflies – and just to confuse matters some butterflies, like the red admiral, have been recorded flying after dark.
Such day-flying moths include among their number some stunning specimens, including the six-spot burnet and cinnabar moths, which are glossy and dark with deep red markings, and the jersey tiger and wood tiger moths, which have brightly coloured underwings.
Other moths one might come across feeding at flowers in broad daylight include the hummingbird hawk-moth (sometimes mistaken for the hovering tropical bird after which it is named!) and silver-Y moth, while on the moors one might chance across the impressive emperor moth, with large ‘eye’ markings on the wings.
With current warm weather, now is the time to spot these day-fliers on the wing, feeding on nectar or searching for mates.
A few days ago I went in search of a scarce species I have never seen before, but which flies at this time of year and can be seen in damp pasture and downland, particularly in the south west – the narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth.
This fat-bodied moth is similar in appearance to the hummingbird hawk-moth – which can often be seen hovering to feed from flowers in summer – but is scarcer and has transparent wings and a belt of orange across the body. If anything it is more likely to be confused with a bumblebee as it buzzes between flowers.
With expert advice on where to try, I visited a Dartmoor meadow in the hope of catching a glimpse. As ever I was pushed for time, but the weather was perfect and it wasn’t long before I saw a bumblebee-like insect hovering above a patch of grass. Only, frustratingly, it didn’t settle and flew off.
Half an hour of searching later and the insect returned and sped to a patch of bluebells where it proceeded to feed. I had to pick up my pace to locate it, but was rewarded with excellent views as it flew between the flowers, hovering and hanging on with its front legs while its long proboscis sucked up nectar from deep within the nodding bells.