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

Identification

Usually distinctive. Care required, potential confusion with Sandy Carpet.

Recording method

Flies by day, especially around dusk. Attracted to light.

Life cycle

One generation. Overwinters as a pupa. Larvae mid-June to August inside the seed capsules. Pupates underground.

Larval foodplants

Yellow-rattle.

Habitat

Grassland, coastal shingle and dune-slacks.

History 1860-2010

First recorded for Dumfries and Galloway in 1858 for VC72 near Moffat by Somerville, in 1874 for VC73 near Castle Douglas by Robinson-Douglas and in 1899 for VC74 near Montreith by Morton.