silver Y

plural silver Ys · alternative silver-y

1. A species Autographa gamma of moths, having distinctive Y-shaped marks on their forewings.

   The differences between the silver-y moth and its two newly described siblings – Autographa messmeri and A. voelkeri – are rather less obvious.

   1992, BBC Wildlife, volume 11, page 69

   2 more examples

   There are a few day-flying exceptions such as hummingbird hawk-moths, silver Ys, cinnabars, scarlet tigers and burnets but, in general, knowledge of moths lags behind that of butterflies.

   2015, Norman Maclean, A Less Green and Pleasant Land, page 223

   Ronaldo’s moth was one of thousands of Silver Y moths, a migratory species that moves north through Europe each summer in search of new breeding grounds, returning south in the autumn.

   2016 July 11, Patrick Barkham, The Guardian

   Synonyms: Y-moth