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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: moth

Moths matter

04 Friday Aug 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects

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#MothsMatter, Autographa gamma, British moths, Burnet companion, Chiasmia clathrata, Euclidia glyphica, Hummingbird hawk-moth, Large Yellow Underwing, Latticed heath, Macroglossum stellatarum, moth, Noctua pronuba, Silver Y, Six-spot burnet, Zygaena filipendulae

Some recent mothy goodness …

230804 1 Caloptilia semifascia

First, the micro moth Caloptilia semifascia, which I found perched on a leaf during a local meander and which, miraculously, stayed still for some photos.

230804 2 large yellow underwing

I grabbed the rain parka I’d left drying on the back of a chair and this beauty flew up. Either I’d brought it home from the previous day’s walk or it had flown in an open window during the night. Whichever it was, this Large yellow underwing (Noctua pronuba) was a welcome visitor.

230804 3 6-spot burnet

I always enjoy watching the Five- and Six-spot burnets during the summer months. This is one of the latter (Zygaena filipendulae).

230804 4 silver y

Most of the Silver Ys (Autographa gamma) I see are constantly fluttering about in the long grass but these two were much more cooperative.

230804 5 burnet companion

Burnet companions (Euclidia glyphica) are also frequently camera shy but I got lucky with this beauty that was more intent on feeding than on the lurking photographer.

230804 6 humming-bird hawk-moth

Hummingbird hawk-moths (Macroglossum stellatarum) are most often seem hovering in front of flowers, their long tongues seeking out the tasty nectar within, but this one whizzed past during a recent walk then, luckily for me, settled on the path in front of me.

230804 7 latticed heath

This lovely is another summertime treat. Last but certainly not least, a Latticed heath (Chiasmia clathrata).

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Scarlet tiger moths

12 Wednesday Jul 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

British moths, moth, Scarlet tiger moth, tiger moth

When you read the words ‘tiger moth’, you probably think plane, after the flying machines engineered by Geoffrey de Havilland (the first of these was designed with foldable wings, so as to fit into a small space – hence the name moth]. I hadn’t realised until I read up about him that de Havilland designed lots of planes, with variations of the moth name – no surprise then to read he was apparently an enthusiastic lepidopterist.

230713 scarlet tiger (1)

However, I digress. In this blog, the tiger moths are actually moths not planes, Scarlet tiger moths – in fact, the two Scarlet tigers seen during last week’s perambulations. The Scarlet tiger is the tiger moth I see most often, though it is only one of six tiger moths regularly seen in the UK – the others are Ruby, Wood, Garden, Cream-spot and Jersey tiger.

230713 scarlet tiger (2)

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The tiniest moth

07 Friday Jul 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Batia lunaris, British moths, Lesser tawny tubic, moth, tiny moth

At first I thought this was just a scrap of dried leaf or something similar, but then I looked more closely and could see that the two white bits sticking out one end were in fact tiny legs. It was a moth, a Lesser tawny tubic (Batia lunaris), hands down the smallest moth I’ve ever seen.

230707 Batia lunaris (1)

According to the UK Moths website, it has a wingspan of 7-10mm, is present throughout England (it doesn’t mention the rest of the UK but, obviously, it’s here in Wales!), and can generally be found in woodland areas – if you can find it at all, that is. I’m so glad I decided to check it out rather than ignore it.

230707 Batia lunaris (2)

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Flitting about in the grass

24 Saturday Jun 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Autographa gamma, British moths, Burnet companion, Chrysoteuchia culmella, Euclidia glyphica, Garden Grass-veneer, moth, Silver Y

During my recent wanders, particularly through areas of long grass, moths tiny and large have been flitting up and flying a short distance, before fluttering back into the grass. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the moths have seemingly disappeared, so capable of stillness have they been and so well camouflaged. Fortunately for me, in the other one percent of instances I’ve managed to get photographs. Here are some of these flitters …

230624 burnet companion

– Burnet companion (Euclidia glyphica)

230624 silver y

– Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

230624 Chrysoteuchia culmella

– Garden grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

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Variations on a shell

09 Friday Jun 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British moths, Camptogramma bilineata, moth, Yellow Shell

The UK Moths website entry for the Yellow shell (Camptogramma bilineata) begins: ‘A very variable species, with examples ranging from bright yellow through to dark brown….’ And variable it most certainly is, as you can see in this series of images, not the sharpest of photos but a selection of the various Yellow shells I’ve seen over the years. These moths fly by day, and the adults are active from now through to August.

230609 yellow shell

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Beautiful plume

07 Wednesday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, Beautiful plume, British moths, moth, plume moth

This tiny moth was a lovely surprise from last week’s wildflower searching. I only managed a couple of quick shots before it flew into the vegetation but they were good enough for my friendly local moth expert to identify this as a Beautiful plume (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla), which George also told me is ‘One of the few plumes that overwinters as an adult’. Beautiful, indeed!

221207 Beautiful plume

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Rush veneer

07 Friday Oct 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British moths, migrant moth, moth, Nomophila noctuella, Rush veneer

The migrants just keep coming, and I love to see them because it always seems so amazing to me that a little moth like this, with a wingspan of just 26-32mm, can fly all the way to south Wales from somewhere in Europe.

221007 rush veneer

Meet the Rush veneer (Nomophila noctuella), which the UK Moths website says ‘can often be found in large numbers at coastal watch-points, and tends to occur in the adult stage between May and September’. At least six of these little migrants flew up from the path as I walked through a local field earlier this week.

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Shaded broad-bar

19 Friday Aug 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British moths, day-flying moths, moth, Scotopteryx chenopodiata, Shaded broad-bar

Apart from Five- and Six-spotted burnets and the various grass moths that flit up as I walk along pathways through meadows, I’ve not seen many day-flying moths recently so these Shaded broad-bars (Scotopteryx chenopodiata) were a nice surprise. They fly during July and August, and can be found throughout Britain, particularly in areas where vetches and clovers – their larval food plants – grow. As you can see, the colours of these moths can be quite variable (the Butterfly Conservation website has more examples).

220819 shaded broad-bar

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Scarlet tiger, deceased

06 Wednesday Jul 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British moths, Callimorpha dominula, moth, Scarlet tiger, Scarlet tiger moth

Though I know death is inevitable for all living creatures, I’m always sad when I find something dead. On a practical level, of course, it’s often an opportunity to look more closely at that creature, which is what happened with this Scarlet tiger moth (Callimorpha dominula) I found on a pavement last week. That scarlet colour is just glorious!

220706 scarlet tiger

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Moths are amazing

17 Friday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

British moths, moth

At the risk of stating the obvious, moths are amazing! And I’ve been lucky to find some gorgeous examples in recent weeks. As I’m running out of image storage space on this blog, the easiest way to share my photos is via a slideshow video. Here, then, is a short tribute to moths, a celebration of their incredible diversity of shapes and sizes, patterns and colours.

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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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Recent blog posts

  • M is for mite December 18, 2025
  • L is for lepidopteran lifers December 17, 2025
  • K is for Keeled skimmers December 16, 2025
  • J is for Jersey tiger December 15, 2025
  • I is for Ichneumon December 14, 2025

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