Brrrr!

Frost!  Thank goodness, we have not yet planted out any vulnerable veg. 'Ne'er cast a clout 'til May be out' says the expression and last night's low explains why. It also guaranteed a nearly empty moth trap.

Nearly but not completely. There were four maybugs, an Epiphyas postvittana micro, two completely comatose White Ermines, a Rustic Shoulder-knot (thanks again to Edward for his correction on this moth a couple of days ago) and this, above: the first Silver Y of the year.

This is a very familiar moth for me, going right back to childhood when I watched them sipping nectar from brambles near our home in Leeds. It is a day- as well as nightflyer and one of the relatively few moths which a large number of people are likely to see.

It has also had some historic moments, such as the interruption by a swarm of Silver Ys of the European Cup football final in Paris in 2016. Attracted by the stadium's immensely powerful lights, they brought proceedings to a halt, even crawling over the famed referee Pierluigi Collina and stars such as Christiano Ronaldo, almost certainly attracted further by their sweat. You can read more here.

The moths were migrating en masse, carried along by the wind; and this raises the big question surrounding the Silver Y in the UK.  It is classed as an 'immigrant' and most of its population here almost certainly has come here that way. But there is a growing opinion among entomologists, including a learned neighbour of mine, David Duthie, that many of our Silver Ys have been born here, like so many originally migrant species,  and for a good number of years past.

Talking of swarms, Penny and I watched fascinated at the communal allotments as bees from the local hives gathered for a far from socially-distant drinking bout in our old Belfast sink, now a mini-cistern.  I asked a beekeeper up the road, Martin Knops, about this and he replied: "There are some drones in there so I hope that they are not getting ready to swarm with the old queen. They need lots of water to make propolis and the cell walls - I’ll have to investigate!" I will bring further news as and when.

It was a bit nippy but we had an excellent Nature walk during the afternoon which brought the chance of a much better photo of a male Beautiful Demoiselle.  Here it is again, below, in a composite of other sights including a fine colony of Early Marsh orchids discovered by another young neighbour. That brings our tally of local species to six, the others being Pyramidal, Common Spotted, Green-winged, Bee and one solitary and extremely weird-looking Lizard.

Update: the Cranefly or Daddy Longlegs in the composite has been identified by a kind expert on iRecord as Tipula varipennis.