Latticed heath


The latticed heath is a moth of the family Geometridae, belonging to the subfamily Ennominae, placed in the tribe Macariini. The genus was erected by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

Taxonomy

The current placement of clathrata in the genus Chiasmia follows from the revision by Malcolm J. Scoble of the tribe Macariini, when he showed that true Semiothisa species were restricted to the Americas. There are a number of described subspecies. Molecular work has confirmed the placement of clathrata within Chiasmia.

Subspecies

include:
This species can be found throughout Europe, the Near East, North Africa, and east through Russia, Siberia, Amur River, northern Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Korea to Japan. It is a fairly common species in the British Isles. These moths inhabit a range of open areas, including grassland, moorland, and waste ground.

Description

Adult

Chiasmia clathrata has a wingspan of 20–25 mm. In this rather variable species the background colour of the wings varies from yellowish to white, with a network of brown lines. These lines vary in thickness and sometimes the wings are almost entirely dark brown.

Larva

The final instar larva is pale green with white lines, including a strong lateral line and thin dorsal lines along the body. Abdominal segments A1 through A5 have a strong white line across the rear end of each segment that ends just above the lateral line.

Ecology

In the British Isles there are one or two generations annually, with adults seen at any time from May to September. These moths are nocturnal. Larvae feed on bedstraws and various legumes such as clovers, trefoils, lucerne and meadow vetchling, primarily in June and July and from mid-August through September, though in Ireland and northern Britain larvae occur in July and August. The species overwinters as a pupa. This species flies both during the day and also at night when it is attracted to light.