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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silversnapper" data-source="post: 838670" data-attributes="member: 52909">Copper Underwing Moth[ATTACH=full]422832[/ATTACH]Today I got round to processing this shot and, as always, I had to consult learned literature to identify it. Whilst reading, I came upon the following information which rather surprised me as I have never considered moths as serious pollinators - how wrong can one be! This is an extract from an article on the Butterfly Conservation organisations website:==========30 March 2023     Moths are more efficient pollinators at night than day-flying pollinators such as bees, new research from the University of Sussex has found.Amid widespread concern about the decline of wild pollinating insects like bees and butterflies, researchers from the University of Sussex, including Dr Max Anderson, Butterfly Conservation's South West Landscape Officer, have discovered that <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths" target="_blank">moths</a> are particularly vital pollinators for nature.Studying 10 sites in the south-east of England throughout July 2021, the Sussex researchers found that 83% of insect visits to bramble flowers were made during the day. While the moths made fewer visits during the shorter summer nights, notching up only 15% of the visits, they were able to pollinate the flowers more quickly.As a result, the researchers concluded that moths are more efficient pollinators than day-flying insects such as bees, which are traditionally thought of as 'hard-working'. While day-flying insects have more time available to transfer pollen, moths are making an important contribution during the short hours of darkness.==========I, for one, will never look at a moth in the same light again.</blockquote>

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