Moth invasion!

[Cetti]

Every evening now our Buddleia and Escallonia is alive with about 100+ feeding moths - but what are they?

More than likely some kind of Hawk Moth as they hover motionless for a couple of seconds, but at such a speed then off to another flower - so I've given up trying to get a picture of them. I'm way down on the coast in Dorset ..immigrants blown over by hot winds perhaps....or just common or garden UK species? Any ideas?

[Robinia]

oooh really Cetti? sorry I've no idea yet but I'll investigate. my budds are right at the bottom & I don't go down that far after dark (!) but tonight I shall don my spacesuit (to protect me from bug bites) & take a look.
The way the weather's going there'll probably be snakes & tarantulas down there.

sorry to go off subject but do little birds survive this heat?(35C in Derby today!)

[Cetti]

Oh no Robinia, it's not after dark, well before dusk actually otherwise I wouldn't be around. Even in a suburban garden there's way too many rustles and odd sounds for my liking - and I am incredibly jumpy!!!

Birdies are fine. There are probably a few casualties but they mainly stay quietly within cover feeding early morning and late evening. As long as they have plenty of water to drink and maintain their feathers they will survive - unlike us...I'm half dead today. Phew!!!!

[Robinia]

haha you sound like me Cetti, it's amazing how noisy a garden is, even on a very still night......
I'll keep my eyes open for moths this evening..... well, I'll try. This is waaaaay too hot for me & my aches & my little dog is poorly too despite keeping him cool & indoors for the past few days. In fact several people's doggies are ill today.....glad the birds will be ok, they might just be having a cold shower tonight, storms are forecast.

[gen2]

It is quite likely that is a Hummingbird Hawkmoth. There have been many reports recently, even as far north as Shetland. I took these pictures just last week.

http://www.kirkcaldybook.com/modules/newbb/vie wtopic.php?topic_id=132&forum=1&post_id=926#fo rumpost926

Does that look like your visitors?

[Cetti]

Nice pictures gen2. No they are not Hummingbird Hawkmoths , but one of those did pay our garden a visit on Tuesday. Pretty things.

My moths come in groups of 20 or more. The nearest I can get is Lime Hawk Moths...but do they come singly ...or in a gang?

[Cetti]

Thanks tonyted. I've just had a look at the Drinker Moth- another beauty, but sadly not the one.

[Robinia]

sorry Cetti - none on my buddleias & it seems the only moth mentioned with regards to budds is the mullein moth, but you've probably found that already.

[Elfin]

Cetti, I think they are probably a moth called a Silver Y. If you do get close enough you may see the white Y shape on each forewing. They fly during the day, at dusk and at night and my buddleia used to be their favourite (I have moved house now - nearer where you are funnily enough).

[Cetti]

Lovely to hear from you Elfin. The last time you helped me out on a mothy Q they turned out to be Silver Y's, didn't they?
I'm not sure whether this lot are as they hover constantly making identification almost impossible - but I will try again tonight if the rain stays away.

[burnhal]

Have you tried the following to keep them still so you can look at them? I saw it on Springwatch a couple of years ago and tried it this year with great success. Get some string - on the telly they dipped some in wine and I think some in honey- scoured the cupboard but had run out of honey so I coated the string thinly with jam- didnt want them to stick to it. Tie the string round branches at dusk and sit patiently. I had some wonderful moths land on the string to feed. They just sat their filling their faces and didnt move when you got close with a torch to look at them. One was a gothic moth and the others I cant remember off the top of my head- but would never have identified them if they werent sat still!

[Cetti]

What a great idea burnhal. Wine is out (sacrilege ;-)) but I do have a new jar of honey, so will definitely give that a try.

Just had a look at your Gothic Moth as it's a new one to me. What a gorgeous creature - white lace on a black background - and also rare. What a find!

[Elfin]

Cetti, one good way to tell if they are Silver Y is to go out at dusk when they are still there (if you dare venture out) and shine a torch on them. Even when they are constantly hovering, the silver Y shape reflects back at you.

If not, can you tell what colour they are? And roughly how big? As you said, it is possible they could be immigrants in this weather. However, as far as I'm aware, none of the hawk-moths fly in daylight except the hummingbird.

The thing burnhal mentioned is called sugaring (or wine-roping). It is a tried and tested method and tends to attract different moths than those attracted to light. You can use molasses as well as wine and other boozy stuff like brandy!

Let us know how you get on!

[Cetti]

My moths must be teetotal Elfin, as the wine was ignored ( mind you it was just the dregs and the string wasn't very long!).Much too late to try the honey - but I will as it does make perfect sense.

I did manage to take 4 pics, not great, but it will give you an idea of their size. Not so many tonight as the sea mist cooled everything dramatically. They do look like Silver Y's...or perhaps even Golden Y's. See what you think.
http://i5.tinypic.com/20j3291.jpg
http://i5.tinypic.com/20j35fs.jpg

[Cetti]

The other 2 pics.

http://i5.tinypic.com/20j47ld.jpg
http://i5.tinypic.com/20j4f9c.jpg

[Elfin]

Nice pics, well done!

My money's still on Silver Y, although yours are quite vividly marked - must be quite fresh ones. The main differentiator (apart from some subtle wing pattern differences) is that Golden Y don't fly in the daytime. My moth bible says that Silver Y are actually immigrants anyway and sometimes extremely abundant in Southern UK in hot weather when the numbers are further boosted by extra immigrants. So there you go - they're all holidaying at your place this year!

I never had much luck with the wine rope thing myself although others swear by it. I did once get an Old Lady moth on one though - they don't come to light like most others so you don't get to see them much.

Incidentally, I'm no longer living with my friend (who was the moth obsessive hehe) so I don't actively "do" moths so much these days. However, I have 2 new kittens and they are chasing every winged thing that comes in the window at night, so I'm still keeping my hand in. I have now relocated down to sunny Wilts and am loving being back in the West!

[Cetti]

Silver Y's they are then Elfin. It was the vivid colour that made me wonder, but perhaps they were wearing their best and brightest clothes to visit me - and bringing their passports of course!

Wiltshire is gorgeous, particularly the area around Avebury and Marlborough. Sorry to hear you're not with your Mothman any more, but hope you managed to smuggle a few of his books although I bet you knew as much as he did after a while.

Thank you - and many thanks to everyone who helped. Great fun!