Butterflies fly by day and moths by night ...? No, not true. I am sure no butterflies fly by night but there are a number of moths that fly by day including this one, the Silver Y.
The Silver Y is plentiful this time of year and yet, although one of our most well known moths because it flies by day, it does not breed here. All the moths we see are immigrants from the warmer climate of Southern Europe. In some years they can be abundant everywhere. I remember giving up after counting to 100 one morning in my moth trap and I still many more to go!
Not often found at rest, usually there is a fluttering of wings, but when they do settle the silver Y on the wings is quite distinctive. There are Golden Y moths too, but not usually seen during the day unless disturbed.
The Silver Y does lay eggs on every kind of low vegetation and the larva do hatch and become adults later in the summer boosting numbers but they cannot survive our winters.
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