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

Identification

Usually distinctive.

Recording method

Attracted to light.

Life cycle

One generation. Overwinters as a small larva. Larvae late August to mid-June. Pupates in a cocoon on the foodplant.

Larval foodplants

Blackthorn, Black Currant, Garden Privet, hawthorns, Red Currant, spindles and heather.

Habitat

Moorland, woodland and hedgerows.

History

First recorded for Dumfries and Galloway in 1862 for VC72 near Dumfries by Lennon who stated it was ‘common all over the country’, in 1870 for VC73 in Colvend parish by White and in 1899 for VC74 near Monreith by Morton.