Dos_Box Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 Thankfully, my panic over the bees this year has proved to be wrong. Whilst numbers are slightly down, I have seen increasing numbers in our garden and all of the plants, flowers fruit and herbs have been pollinated Butterfly's and moths however are another thing entirely. They are almost totally absent. I see the odd one or two around (mainly whites), but nothing near the amount that should be considered normal, and nothing at all in the garden. the same goes for moths. They are virtually non-existent. Which is strange because many species of moth contain a natural anti-freeze and can quite easily survive a harsh winter. Unfortunately, many species of moth pupate in the ground, and given the dreadful rainfall we had last summer all the way into this spring I suspect that these simply did not survive Anyway, if any of you could cheer me up and just let me know that your local butterfly and moth population is doing OK it would be much appreciated.
plexer Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 Haven't seen many about not plagued with moths in the evenings if I leave the back door open as is normal for this time. Few butterflies in the school garden but not a lot considering all the plants and flowers. Ben
elsiegee40 Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 Round here, bees seem to be doing well. I am seeing different moths rather than fewer. A couple of species that I can't identify. Butterflies: a few blues which is normal for early season and not much else. I wonder if the butterflies have been delayed by the lateness of their food plants. The plants are around a month behind schedule, so it is likely that the butterflies are too.
witch Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 Not many butterflies here I'm afraid- I think the cold got them. We haven't had much in the way of moths for several years, probably because of the rainfall as you said. Bumble bees and solitary bees seem OK but I have seen very few honey bees
MatthewL Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 Quite a few moths around here, had 2 in the bedroom last night till I got them out.
FN-GM Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 Seem to be loads of Moths in my area, get them daily in my bedroom. As soon as i open the window they seem to all turn up! I haven't been looking but i can't recall last time i have seen a butterfly.
GeeHubb Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 Strangely enough MrHubb and I were only remarking about the distinct lack of butterflies earlier this week. Seem to be plenty of bees in the garden, but, as yet my cabbage plants are caterpillar free zones!
Trapper Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 As someone with an irrational fear of moths - good. Many bee's, in fact three nests in the garden. Two under the lawn, which makes mowing the sod a fun affair, and one either in our cavity wall or in our loft (haven't had to balls to go and look). We've been told it's best to leave it as they are bumble bees. Wasps remove, honey bees get a beeman, but for bumbles we just need to leave it alone until they die at the end of the summer. Remember we need the bees!
rich_tech Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 I won't cry over moths, hate the things ! plenty of them all around my parents house (surrounded by a load of common land)
ButterflyMoon Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 My friend got himself two hives last weekend unbeknownst to me. Saturday evening my cousin was down visiting and as we sat in my yard we noticed loads of little honey bees around my shrubs. We were both delighted and had a blether about the bee population and the issues they face just now. Turns out these were some of my friend's bees how cool was that?
Novalee Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 There was a huge moth fluttering about my room the other night when I was trying to get to sleep - I don't know why I don't like them, I like butterflies and actually when this moth sat on the curtains I snapped a picture of him and he was very pretty. Still didn't want him in there though!!
LiamH Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 Due to getting married in just under a month i think most butterfly's are living in my stomach, I'm sure once it is all done they will migrate back to the gardens. I made the mistake of leaving my light on, window wide open and blinds open after sunset last night, looked up to see (not kidding) about 20 moths, after i switched the light off for the night they went back outside looking for a new source. 1
Dos_Box Posted July 11, 2013 Author Posted July 11, 2013 It does make me laugh when people tell me they are afraid of moths. They are the same as butterflies essentially and feed off flowers. IIRC, butterflies evolved from moths. Out of the thousands of micro and macro moth species (small/big) only about 7 can feed on fabrics and even then it is very rare that will now be attracted to modern fabrics with a mix of organic and artificial fibers. What I'm not seeing is very many macro (big) moths this year. Partly this is down to the fact many are nocturnal, but even then if you know where to look during the day you can still usually find them.
witch Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 My bedroom window has been wide open for the past few days and no moths have come in to the light My middle son is afraid of moths - it was quite useful when he was young as he was (and is, sadly) quite arrogant and used to tease his brother and sister over their fears. It was handy to be able to say "but you are afraid of moths, which can't hurt you" He can't articulate why they scare him and he isn't scared of butterflies
Flatpackhamster Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 My bedroom window has been wide open for the past few days and no moths have come in to the light My middle son is afraid of moths - it was quite useful when he was young as he was (and is, sadly) quite arrogant and used to tease his brother and sister over their fears. It was handy to be able to say "but you are afraid of moths, which can't hurt you" He can't articulate why they scare him and he isn't scared of butterflies Maybe it's the way they crawl in to your ear when you're asleep and latch on to your brain stem and suck the life out of you. 1
ButterflyMoon Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 Maybe it's the way they crawl in to your ear when you're asleep and latch on to your brain stem and suck the life out of you. @Flatpackhamster omg you are soooooo bad and probably traumatised a lot of folk right now lol
Dos_Box Posted July 11, 2013 Author Posted July 11, 2013 Maybe it's the way they crawl in to your ear when you're asleep and latch on to your brain stem and suck the life out of you. So that's why I have to remove even the smallest moth from my children's bedrooms at 10pm each night!
Flatpackhamster Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 @Flatpackhamster omg you are soooooo bad and probably traumatised a lot of folk right now lol HUGE TEETH! They've got HUUUUGE TEEETH... And mouthparts like tungsten drill bits for cutting through the bone and tendon. Am I helping?
ButterflyMoon Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 Hahahahahaha @Flatpackhamster am totally fine with flying creepies.
LiamH Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 Hahahahahaha @Flatpackhamster am totally fine with flying creepies. Who would have thought, with a name like that 1
Trapper Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 Actually my fear is from when I was four and had my tonsils out. Just before the needle went in for the anesthetic I was told to "look at the pretty butterflies!" and that just did it for me. I don't mind butterflies now, or small moths, but I get cold sweats over macro moths. You can hear their wings, and they fly in such an erratic manner!
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