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

See also Moth of the Week (13/06/2024)

Identification

Usually distinctive.

Care required, potential confusion with Lead Belle.

Recording Method

Easily disturbed by day. Attracted to light.

Life cycle

One generation. Overwinters as a larva. Larvae September to May. Pupates in a cocoon in plant debris.

Larval foodplant

The larval foodplants are Dyer’s Greenweed, Broom and Gorse, from which it may be disturbed during the day.

Habitat

Open, scrubby habitats on heathland, moorland and the coast.

History

First recorded in Dumfries and Galloway in 1862 in VC72 near The Craigs, Dumfries by Lennon.  The first record for VC73 was in 1874 at Castle Douglas by Robinson-Douglas who noted that it was ‘fairly common’.  First recorded in VC74 in 1899 near Monreith by Morton who regarded it as ‘common’.