Identification

Male is distinctive. Female is wingless (apterous).

Recording method

Males can be seen after dusk flying along hawthorn and blackthorn hedges, comes to light.  Probably under-recorded due to it emerging in January and February.

Life cycle

One generation. Overwinters as a pupa just below the ground. Larvae are present early April to late May.

Larval foodplants

Larvae feed on Hawthorn and Blackthorn.

Habitat

Woodland, scrub and hedgerows.

History

First recorded for Dumfries and Galloway in 1862 for VC72 near Dumfries by Lennon who reported it as ‘not very common around the Dumfries area’, in 1906 for VC74 at Corsemalzie by Gordon who found it ‘common at rest on birch twigs and hedges in Wigtownshire’ and in 1974 at Sandyhills by Ford.