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

Identification

Usually distinctive. Care required, potential confusion with Striped Twin-spot Carpet.

Recording method

Male flies by day in warm, dry weather. Attracted to light.

Life cycle

One generation. Overwinters as an egg. Larvae April to June. Pupates in a cocoon in leaf litter.

Larval foodplants

Bilberry, Cow Parsley, Heather, Red Campion, sallows and other herbaceous plants.

Habitat

Light upland and lowland woodland, moorland, sand-dunes and sea-cliffs.

History

First recorded for Dumfries and Galloway in 1820 for VC72 at Raehills by Little who said it was ‘common’, in 1899 for VC74 near Monreith by Morton and in 1942 near Gatehouse of Fleet by Russell.