These amazing moths first appeared in numbers on 30th July. Thereafter we have seen at least one daily. It soon became apparent that not only were the potted geraniums outside the cottage being visited on a regular basis, but that one could be found quite easily at rest on our barn wall. In overcast conditions one moth could be found during the day, looking incidentally nothing like the hummingbird we all know when nectaring on flowers. It seems too that this day-flying jewel probably goes to roost at night, certainly on one occasion it was found at dawn in exactly the same position as it was seen the previous dusk.
From all this it appears that one individual has adopted our site as its base. This makes some sense considering that its larval food plant is Ladies Bedstraw and Hedge Bedstraw. Sufficient to say that our three acre meadow is full of Ladies Bedstraw and there is plenty of Hedge Bedstraw too.
Tony & Ro Rayner 7/8/2010