Gold Swift

This is a rather small moth for the family, with a wingspan of 26–32 mm. The male is distinctive, the brown forewings marked with two parallel bands of white markings. The larger female is less striking with muted grey-and-brown markings. The adult is on the wing in June and July (this refers to the British Isles; other parts of the range may differ) and both sexes are moderately attracted to light. To attract females, the male emits a scent rather similar to pineapple.

The adult moths spend most of the 24 hours resting, in a wide variety of places from the tree canopy to the base of the ground vegetation. They are active only for two brief periods: for an hour or two around sunset, when they mate and previously mated females lay eggs; and then very briefly for about 15 minutes at sunrise, when mating pairs separate, and males that have remained overnight in exposed positions move to less visible places. Very occasionally, and usually in mountainous areas, there is a period of activity in the mid-afternoon.

Courtship and mating. The mating system is spectacular, but rarely observed because it takes place in the late evening, on either side of sunset. …