Puzzled

Although the burnet moths, Zygaena species, have the same name as the burnet plants, during more than 50 years I have worked with burnet moths, off and on, I cannot recall ever seeing a burnet larva on a burnet plant. The larval food plants of many of the burnets are the exceedingly common bird’s-foot trefoil and other clover-like plants.

The adults feed on nectar from on a large variety of plants. They are frequently seen on thistles, knapweeds and their relatives. Although the adult may feed on the nectar from the burnet flowers, this is casual. The presence or absence of burnet plants in no way determines the distribution of the moth and so the implication of the caption to saving Gavray Meadows is misleading.

David A Jones, MA DPhil CBiol FSB FLS

Emeritus Professor of Genetics,

University of Hull

Emeritus Professor of Botany (Ecological Genetics),

University of Florida

Gagle Brook House

Chesterton