Moths are mostly creatures of the night. However, a few of the 2,500 species of British moth can be seen now in the daytime. One is the six-spot burnet moth. It is very conspicuous with its six red spots on each of its metallic blue forewings, and when it exposes its hindwings they are seen to be red with a blue margin. It takes nectar from wild thyme and the lilac flowers of field scabious, and it lays its eggs on bird’s-foot trefoil. It is poisonous to birds since its body contains cyanide, but its bright colours warn them off.

Another day-flying moth is the silver-Y moth. It is often seen hovering in front of flowers with its wings beating rapidly, as it probes for nectar with its proboscis. If it settles, one can see that on each of its mottled, purplish forewings there is a distinct silvery-white mark like a rather wobbly “Y”. It is an immigrant from the Continent, and with the help of a favourable wind can fly across the Channel at 55mph.