At the last count we had 28 different nectar sources that attracted butterflies in our garden. I record on a chart which species visit which plant but have made little effort to extend this to moths. However, on August 11th my wife Marie thought she saw a Hummingbird hawk moth on valerian outside the French door. Closer study showed it was a Silver Y. Soon after she saw six more feeding on the tall buddleia close to the kitchen window. This took us both outside and, with enough light still left, we were suddenly aware of a whirring world of Silver Ys around and above us, at least 50 in all, mainly on the purple buddleia but also at least six on a yellow buddleia further down the garden. There were more on the valerian, a few on the jasmine around the dining room window and some on the tall Verbena bonariensis.
We left a message with Tony Prichard and counted another 23 the following night, after which a change in the weather ended the spectacle. The Silver Y is of course a migrant moth and although some later in the summer may be the home-produced brood of earlier visitors, other records around this date suggest strongly that it was a good period for migrants.
The Red Admiral and Painted Lady were recorded in the garden and on the Fynn Valley transect. Incredibly a Swallowtail flew through the garden on 4th August. I recorded two Clouded Yellows along the Jetty at Piper’s Vale on 6th August and at least another ten along the North Downs the next day.
The Silver Y was obviously a memorable sight – we normally record it in our garden as a singleton. However, we were left wondering if we would have seen more a week earlier when the main buddleia had far more flowers and perfumed spikes.
Richard Stewart
© 2004 Suffolk Naturalists' Society
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