Swift Moth

[chasw]

Please tell what you are spraying with for this pest,noticed that the leaves on my clump of  Diggory were looking rather sad ,so dug them up to find that quite a few bulbs had been bored into so have stripped all rotten parts off and bathed them in a fungicide and re planted into a pot and the really sickly ones into another pot so will see what happens,other clumps nearby seem to be fine ,but think I will dig up some of the nearset to Diggory to see if they are affected

[Alan_b]

Last year I tried Provado towards the end of the season (only after flowering had finished) and Grow Your Own Nematodes over the summer (needs warmish soil).  So far I have only found one swift moth larva and that was in a neglected pot of snowdrops that would not have been treated.  But it's too early in the repotting season to comment on how effective those treatments have been.  I also had poor flowering this year so it's possible something I did last year promoted leaves over flowers.

[David Nicholson]

Apart from Snowdrops what are Swift Moth's other foods please?

[chasw]

Thanks Alan

[Alan_b]

David, not many people on the forum have admitted to Swift Moth problems but Tim Ingram said they were partial to hellebores, if I remember correctly.

[Maggi Young]

I think the larvae will attack a wide range of plants, edible and decorative.
Seems Galanthus and hellebores are their first choice but  Polygonatum, Disporum, Primula, Paeonia, Allium, Apium,
Brassica,  Ribes, Rubus, Solanum, Humulus,  Lactuca, Chrysanthemum, Dahlia,
Daucus, Fragaria, Helianthus, Lycopersicon, Pastinaca,  Phaseolus, Iris,    Poaceae..............

[David Nicholson]

Mmmmm, hungry little blighters, a pest I don't think I've (or my plants!) have ever suffered from-yet.

[Alan_b]

David, I'm sure swift moths are more prevalent in certain areas but you are unlikely to catch one in the act.  However you may see them in the vicinity if you are lifting and dividing snowdrops at this time of year.  You might have seen one and mistaken it for a chafer grub,  although chafer grubs have a grey end to the abdomen.  If you keep snowdrops in pots you might find that one year you have grown a swift moth instead of the snowdrops.