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

Identification

Usually distinctive.

Recording method

Attracted to light

Life cycle

One generation. Overwinters as an egg on the foodplant. Larvae April to June.

Larval foodplants

Bilberry, Heather, Hawthorn, Blackthorn, oaks and birches.

Habitat

Hedgerows, woodland and gardens.

History

First recorded from Dumfries and Galloway in 1862 for VC72 near Dumfries by Lennon who said it ‘was common everywhere’, in 1899 for VC74 at Corsemalzie by Gordon who stated it was ‘not uncommon in Wigtownshire, but that it seemed to be scarce at Corsemalzie’ and in 1942 for VC73 at Gatehouse of Fleet by Russell.