Salix flowers, Orthosia moths and moth specialist bats - a possible connection

We present the results of 63 nights of recordings carried out in early spring in the years 2017 to 2020. In the beginning of vegetative season in northern Europe insects are scarce and one of the first blossoming trees - Salix spp. are providing local hotspots of Orthosia moths - a possible food source for moth specialized bats, such as the brown long-eared and barbastelle. Our experiment confirms a relationship between willows and long-eared bats, manifested with overall higher activity around willow than in vicinity of other trees and remains inconclusive for barbastelles.