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Tag Archives: Latticed heath

Latticed heaths

21 Saturday Aug 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British moths, Grangemoor Park, Latticed heath, moth

Latticed heath moths have featured many times before on this blog (see here and here) but, after seeing over a dozen during a wander around Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park this week, I can’t resist featuring them again. These are three I managed to get close enough to for macro photos.

210821 latticed heath (1)210821 latticed heath (2)210821 latticed heath (3)

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Consolation prizes

07 Monday Jun 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

British moths, Cream wave, Latticed heath, moths, Silver Y, The Mocha, Yellow Shell

I’ve had two days recently when I went looking for butterflies and was feeling a little disappointed not to see very many when, all of a sudden, a moth flew by and landed at my feet … like Nature saying ‘Here’s a consolation prize!’ or, maybe, ‘Don’t be a Wally! Look at this amazing creature!’ … and so I did. And then another moth appeared, and another, and …

210607 Cream wave

Cream wave (Scopula floslactata)

210607 latticed heath

Latticed heath (Chiasmia clathrata)

210607 Mocha

Mocha (Cyclophora annularia)

210607 silver y

Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

210607 yellow shell

Yellow shell (Camptogramma bilineata)

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142/366 Moths made my day

21 Thursday May 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

British moths, Grangemoor Park, Latticed heath, moth

I’d hoped the sunny skies and warmth would bring out more butterflies during yesterday’s exercise walk but they were few and far between at Grangemoor Park, and I think that’s weather related.

200521 latticed heath (1)

Earlier this year, we had almost constant, often heavy rain that saturated the ground and turned everywhere to mud, and now the ground is being baked dry and hard by a subsequent lack of rain. This cycle seems to be having a marked effect on plant growth and insect emergence – at least that’s what I’m seeing, or, rather, not seeing.

200521 latticed heath (2)

The good news at Grangemoor, though, was the abundance of Latticed heath moths, more than I’ve spotted in one day before. Though they do have a habit of flitting very quickly away just as I get ready to take their photo, they are lovely creatures, and seeing so many certainly made my day.

200521 latticed heath (3)

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158/365 Latticed heath

07 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British moths, Chiasmia clathrata, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, day-flying moth, Grangemoor Park, Hamadryad Park, Latticed heath, Lavernock Nature Reserve, moth, moths

This is one of my favourite moths, a Latticed heath (Chiasmia clathrata, from the Greek chiasma, meaning formed like a cross, and clathrum, meaning lattice or grate, a reference to the lovely interlaced and criss-crossing patterns on its wings).

190607 lattice heath (1)

As well as flying in the night time, the Latticed heath also flies by day, which is how I’m able to see them, though they’re very good at hiding in amongst the long grass and wildflowers. I saw my first for 2019 on 23 May at Cosmeston, and I’ve since seen them at most of my regular haunts, Grangemoor and Hamadryad Parks in Cardiff, and Lavernock Nature Reserve.

190607 lattice heath (2)
190607 lattice heath (3)

It’s a smallish moth, with a wingspan between 20 and 25mm, and can be found around clovers and trefoils and lucerne, which are the plants its caterpillars feed on. The first adults can be seen in May and June, and then there’s a second generation that flies in August and September.

190607 lattice heath (4)

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151/365 Leptastic

31 Friday May 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, British butterflies, British moths, Brown argus, butterflies, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Grangemoor Park, Large skipper, Latticed heath, Mother Shipton, moths

I’ve had a lucky week with my Lepidoptera sightings – that’s moths and butterflies, for those who didn’t know – and the week’s not over yet. As well as the Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth on Monday and the Burnet Companions on Tuesday, yesterday I found my first (three) Large Skipper butterflies for the year at Cosmeston.

190531 large skipper (1)190531 large skipper (2)

And, today, my wander around Grangemoor Park was something of a Lep-fest, with the first (five) Mother Shipton moths I’ve seen in 2019.

190531 mother shipton (1)190531 mother shipton (2)

And I spotted a nice Latticed Heath moth trying to hide in the grass.

190531 latticed heath

And, then, just as I was about to head for home, I noticed something small flitting about along a side path, went to investigate and found two Brown Argus butterflies, which I have seen already this year but not in Wales. You can see why I named this blog ‘leptastic’!

190531 brown argus (1)190531 brown argus (2)

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Random acts of wildness

01 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#30DaysWild, British butterflies, British moths, Burnet companion, butterflies, Cinnabar, Common blue, Latticed heath, moths, random acts of wildness, Silver Y, Small white

From today until the end of June, I’m taking part in 30 Days Wild, a month-long nature challenge run by the Wildlife Trusts. The idea is to do something wild every day for 30 days, whether ‘you take time out to simply smell a wildflower, listen to birdsong, explore a local wild place or leave a part of your garden to grow wild for a month’ and the aim is that by ‘making nature part of your life for 30 days’, you will feel ‘happier, healthier and more connected to nature’. This is pretty much what I do most days anyway but this month I’m going to ensure I go wild every single day! You can join in too, if you want – the info is here.

180601 (1) Cathays Cemetery

So, today, on day one, I went for a lovely long wander in Cathays Cemetery, Cardiff’s magnificent, huge, Victorian cemetery. Sadly, some parts of the cemetery are poorly managed – large areas without gravestones, which could be easily become wildflower meadows, are savagely mown, the clippings not removed. But there are a couple of areas where the grasses and wildflowers have been allowed to grow, and additional wildflowers – in particular, a lot of Yellow rattle – have been sewn. These two areas were alive with insects today: bees and hoverflies, bugs and beetles, and damselflies galore. My favourites, though, were all the lovely Lepidoptera: here are some I saw …

180601 (2) Latticed heath

Latticed heath moth

180601 (3) Common blue female

Common blue butterfly (female)

180601 (4) Common blue male

Common blue butterfly (male)

180601 (5) Silver Y

Silver Y moth

180601 (6) Burnet companion

Burnet companion moth

180601 (7) Small white

Small white butterfly

180601 (8) Cinnabar

Cinnabar moth

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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