Species: Silver Y Moth (Autographa gamma)
Family: Owlet Moths (NOCTUIDAE)
Category: Butterflies & Moths
Location: NW
A. Butterflies & Moths
B. Owlet Moths (NOCTUIDAE)
The nocturnal species have eyes that reflect light with an orange glow.
C. Silver Y Moth (Autographa gamma)
The many larval foodplants include bedstraws, clovers, and nettles, all found in the cemetery. It flies from May until September, but rarely survives the Winter.
Images
Silver Y Moth
There is a distinctive Y-shaped mark on the forewing of this otherwise grey and silver moth which is diagnostic in its identification.
One of our volunteers photographed this individual on a windy afternoon in late July 2023 and, in spite of the lack of clarity in the image, this Y-shaped mark is visible on its open wings, quite enough for the county recorder for butterflies and moths to confirm its identity.
(This species had previously been spotted in the cemetery by a butterfly and moth specialist, although no photograph was taken at the time.)
(Photo credit: Eila Holroyd.)
Silver Y Moth
On the same windy day, the siler-white Y mark is clearly visible on the moth's closed wings.
(Photo credit: Eila Holroyd.)
Silver Y Moth
By coincidence, on the windless morning of the same day when the above photographs were taken in the cemetery, a Silver Y Moth was spotted in a garden 350 metres from the cemetery. This shows the moth's interesting patterning - and the Y mark that gives it its name. Here, with the moth's wings closed, the Y mark appears upside-down.
[This photograph was NOT taken in Heene Cemetery.]
