Cyclops wrote:Is that not a Silver Y? I caught one the other night to feed to my Tegenaria(It didnt eat it so i let it go)
Yes, I think it is a Silver Y moth.
Excerpt from the news - Press Information from Scotland:
Humming-bird Hawk-moths arrive, but locals loose out
19 September 2006
Climate change is forcing native butterflies out of former colonies. Meanwhile, unusually high numbers of migrant moths and butterflies have been seen in Scotland this summer. This mass migration is thought to have been prompted by climate change, with moths and butterflies arriving from the Mediterranean and North Africa.
The spectacular Hummingbird Hawk-moth, which originates from North Africa and is normally the subject of a handful of sightings nationally, is believed to have migrated to Scotland in its thousands. There have been individual sightings reported in places as far north as the Orkney Islands, although the majority of reports have come from southern and eastern Scotland.
Richard Fox, Butterfly Conservation's Surveys Manager, said: "The hot summer, especially in July and early August, saw one of the most pronounced migrations ever of moths to the UK. There has been a steady stream of unusual species, and the Humming-bird Hawk-moth has been seen in huge numbers."
Another phenomenon of 2006 has been
the Silver Y moth. It usually visits Scotland in good numbers, but this summer there was a population explosion. It arrived in Europe from North Africa in vast numbers in early summer. By June the Spanish press was talking about swarms of
Silver Y in Madrid. By July they had reached Scotland in numbers far greater than anything ever seen here before.
Paul Kirkland, Director of Butterfly Conservation Scotland, said: "Moths and butterflies react very quickly to environmental change. As Scotland becomes warmer as a result of climate change, we expect to see a great deal more of this kind of migration."
However, native species are suffering as a result of the change in temperature. A recent study has shown that the Mountain Ringlet has become extinct in a third of its former sites, while the Scotch Argus has disappeared from a quarter of its former sites. These butterflies prosper in a cooler climate and are migrating north and uphill to escape the increase in temperature. But they can only go so far uphill before they run out of land.
For closer inspection see here. 
