Red List: Least Concern (LC). GB Status: Common.

Identification

Usually distinctive.

Recording Method

Can be disturbed by day, flies at dusk. Attracted to light.

Life cycle

Two generations. Overwinters as a pupa underground. Larvae  June to late October.

Larval foodplants

Herbaceous plants of the cabbage family.

Habitat

A wide range of habitats including gardens, allotments , rough ground in urban areas but also woodland and coastal locations.

History

First recorded for Dumfries and Galloway for VC72 near Dumfries by Lennon  who stated that it was ‘very common’,  for VC74 in 1899 at Corsemalzie by Gordon and for VC73 in 1942 near Gatehouse of Fleet by Russell. The form thules, which is darker and less contrasting, first occurred at New England Bay (VC74) on 5th September 2005.