Large Heaths and Beautiful Demoiselles in south Cumbria

June 16, 2014:

Large Heath on raised bog

Beautiful Demoiselle on Water Crowfoot

Latterbarrow and Meathop Moss, Cumbria

July 3 & 5, 2012:
Almost continuous poor weather has meant that opportunities to see and photograph insects has been restricted to brief impromtu outings whenever a few hours of favourable conditions occurred. There have been just two of these this past week. At Latterbarrow on the 3rd, a few Northern Brown Argus were flying in areas where Rockrose was present, whilst a beautiful small day-flying Pyrausta moth (probably P. purpuralis) and in pristine condition, took up territory in one small area. There were also Silver Y and Six-spot Burnet moths and several Small Peacock butterflies and many nymphs of the Common Green Grasshopper.

Northern Brown Argus


Pyrausta cf purpuralis


At Meathop Moss two days later, the weather was hot and humid with briefs spells of sushine. At least 50 individuals of the Large Heath butterfly (ssp davus) were flying but were usually reluctant to settle.

Large Heath (subsp. davus)

Also two individuals of the nationally-scarce moth, the Mancheter treble-bar (Carsia sororiata) were seen as well an equally scarce Purple-bordered Gold (Idaea muricata). Other moths which were much more frequent included Clouded Buff (Diacrisia sannio), Common White Wave (Cabera pusaria) and Common Heath (Ematurga atomaria). Nymphs of the Bog bush-cricket were also in evidence until all activity was brought to a sudden halt for the day by a violent thunderstorm.

Manchester treble-bar

Purple-bordered Gold

Clouded Buff

Common White Wave

Common Heath

Bog bush-cricket nymph, female

[Thanks for your help with the moths Graham]

BUTTERFLY: Two subspecies of the Large Heath in Cumbria

July 5 & 8, 2010:
The Large Heath (Coenonympha tullia) is a member of the family of ‘brown’ butterflies which includes the Meadow Brown and Small Heath. It is quite scarce in the UK where it is has a high priority conservation status. In the south of its range it is only found at a few localities in Wales and northern England but is more frequent in Scotland. In Europe it is designated as ‘vulnerable’ and is in decline in many countries.


[subsp. davus, the southern and most strongly marked form with many well-defined eye-spots]

The Large Heath has a specialised habitat requirement: lowland raised bogs, blanket bogs, or damp acidic moorland. Its main larval food-plant is Hare’s-foot Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum). As well as flying in sunshine it can also do so in dull weather provided that it is warm. When feeding on its usual nectar source of heathers, epecially the Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix), it invariably settles with it wings folded so making the upper-sides difficult to examine.


[Typical raised bog habitat of the Large Heath with the yellow Bog Asphodel in the right foreground]

Seen at an acidic bog in north Cumbria in the cool dull conditions pertaining on July 5th, only a few were flying in the more sheltered depressions in the bog but others were well concealed in the heather. The butterfly here is subspecies polydama, so defined by the strength of its wing markings being intermediate between those of the more southern UK localities (subsp. davus) and those of northern Scotland (subsp. scotica).



[subsp. polydama, the less clearly marked, intermediate form from north Cumbria (both above)]

Three days later on July 8th at its classic site at Meathop in south Cumbria, many subsp. davus were flying in breezy but much brighter conditions. This locality and the one seen in the north earlier appear very similar in habitat and vegetation. However, differences in the markings on the butterfly’s underwing are very apparent with those at Meathop showing much more well-defined spots (ocelli) whereas those at the other site (subsp. polydama) have paler wing undersides and fewer, less clearly defined spots. In the far north of Scotland, the underside spots are scarcely visible (subsp. scotica). How clear-cut these subspecies are in reality may be debatable since there seems to be a gradual transition from south to north.



[subsp. davus at Meathop (both above)]

When seen in flight at a distance, it might perhaps be confused with the Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) since the differences in wing-span are relatively slight.


[Small Heath]