On an evening walk with the children this last weekend, amongst the flurries and singing of the birds and the bubbling water of the stream, we spotted a beautiful elephant hawkmoth feeding on honeysuckle for nectar. My daughter immediately piped up ‘what a beautiful butterfly’ and was rather surprised when I told her it was in fact a moth. This got me thinking about how moths are generally perceived by people – brown, grey and garden pests but this couldn’t be further from the truth! Try and look at them as a symbol of a healthy garden ecosystem as well as food for the baby birds we love to see year on year.
Elephant Hawkmoth (by Gavin Chambers)
The adult Elephant Hawkmoth is stunningly beautiful, coloured pink and olive green. They’re nocturnal and tend to fly from dusk until light from May to July, feeding on tubular nectar flowers. By late summer it tends to be the larvae that are spotted most often in gardens, lazing on the stems of fuschias, enjoying the afternoon and evening sun. Indeed, it’s the larvae that gave these particular moths their name, as they have a rather odd-looking snout that extends out like a trunk of an elephant! Throughout autumn/winter the larvae feed themselves up and then pupate amongst the leaf litter on the ground and stay there until they emerge as beautiful moths in spring. Other beautiful night time flying moths we tend to get here at Lake Vyrnwy include the Puss Moth, White ermine, Garden tiger, Yellow-tail and Buff tip to name but a few and because they fly at night, when running family events here on the reserve we have to set-up the moth traps the night before.
Marvelling at a Garden Tiger moth (RSPB Images)
In fact, why not join us at Lake Vyrnwy on Saturday 23rd June where we’ll be running our next popular Magical Moths event, a perfect opportunity for you to find out more about the moths that make Lake Vyrnwy their home. For more information or to book, visit www.rspb.org.uk/lakevyrnwy. Let us inspire you!
From night to day
Thankfully, we do have an array of day time flying moths here on the reserve too and they’re equally as beautiful! One of my favourite has to be the Emperor Moth which is pretty as a moth and as a caterpillar.
Emperor Moths: Left - male, middle - female, right - caterpillar/larva (by Gavin Chambers)
The caterpillars can be found from late May to August on plants such as Heather, Bramble, Blackthorn and Hawthorn but it’s the male that can be seen flying by day in April and May and its rather mad, dashing flight is often mistaken for that of the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly. Other striking day time moths are the Cinnabar, Clouded buff, Five-spot Burnet, Forester and Green Carpet to name but a few and a great place to see some of these species of moths are meadows. Over the last couple of years here at Vyrnwy, we’ve recently taken on small areas of redundant farmland and we’ve been restoring them back into wildflower meadows and each year we like to go and investigate what’s there. This year, to celebrate national meadows day on July 7th, we’ll be heading out into one of our meadows along with one or two of our wardens and spending time identifying the plants and insects that we're lucky enough to have within it. We'll also be conducting our very own little bio-blitz and going on a minibeast hunt with the children too. We’d love you to come along and join us. For more info or to book visit www.rspb.org.uk/lakevyrnwy.
Five-spot Burnet on Knapweed (by Gavin Chambers)
Rare Species
We’re even known here at Lake Vyrnwy for having a population of the rare moth called the Welsh Clearwing. This wasp like moth is seen during the month of June and July and although it flies by day it is very rarely seen. Although it isn’t endangered, it is at risk as it only breeds on mature birch trees with sunlit trunks. Unfortunately, these trees have become uncommon in the countryside and as they come to the end of their lives, other nearby trees may be too young to act as a replacement. Therefore, the Welsh Clearwing is a Species of Conservation Concern and has been identified as a biodiversity priority in Wales by the Welsh Assembly.
Something to think about
Moths aren’t everyone’s cup of tea I know but I hope I’ve helped dispel the idea that all moths are small, brown and ugly! They come in all shapes, sizes and colours – can be seen almost anywhere and there are in fact nine times more species of moths than there are butterflies. So, next time you’re taking an evening walk or find a moth flying around the light upstairs that you forgot to switch off…..just remember to take a minute and appreciate the beauty of these fascinating creatures.
Sioned, Visitor Experience Manager
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