Marvellous moths

Most people aren’t aware that moths help pollinate plants too and several British species are in serious decline.

The UK Moths site helps identify which moths are visiting you. The Beginners Top 20 is a good place to start. There are also some useful factsheets available.

Some moths are very brightly coloured and some are drab brown/grey colours. Moths also provide a vital food source for birds.

Some are wonderfully disguised so they resemble bark or a twig or blade of grass.

Different moths also come out at night.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth

A few years ago, during a hot summer,  I had a hummingbird hawk-moth visit my garden. This is very distinctive looking and resembles a hummingbird when it is feeding. I seem to remember it liked buddleia which is in flower now so fingers crossed for another sighting this year.

Thanks to Julian Wills for this wonderful photograph of a hummingbird hawk moth feeding on lavender.  You can see it extending its proboscis to feed.

Looking at the photo it is hard to believe it is a moth!

The photo was taken at his uncle’s house near the Loire Valley in France. His uncle was very keen on helping wildlife and specifically added lavender to help with pollination.

If you click on the photograph it will take you to his stream on Flickr.

 

 

 

 

I found this video of a hummingbird hawk moth on You Tube. Thanks to routeoz02 for posting it.  

 

Moth Count

Which ones have you seen in your garden recently? You can contribute your findings to the Moth Count being run by Butterfly Conservation.