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

Identification

Usually distinctive.

Recording method

Flies at dusk. Attracted to light.

Life cycle

Two generations. Overwinters as a pupa. Larvae May to October.

Larval foodplants

Flowers of a wide variety of plants, including Broom, Gorse, Heather, Holly, Ivy, Ragworts, Rowan, Sea Aster and Traveller’s-joy.

Habitat

A wide range of habitats including gardens, heathland, moorland and woodland.

History

First recorded for Dumfries and Galloway for VC73 at Dalskairth by Lennon who stated that it was ‘not common’, in 1898 for VC74 at Corsemalzie by Gordon who ‘caught two flying at dusk’, and in 1970 for VC72 at Closeburn by Duncan.