Status
Morley’s Final Catalogue: So inattentively have our Plumes been worked that this ubiquitous Restharrow-feeder had not been noticed in the County till 1903 when Gibbs found it at Felixstow (EMM. 1904, 80).
Recent Status: Recorded on the lighter land areas of Suffolk.
Life Style: A single brooded species that flies by day and night and comes to light from June to August. The larvae which hibernate feed on leaves and shoots of Ononis repens and O. spinosa. They pupate on the foodplant.
Identification: The moth is brown, darker for the male than the female. The markings are light ochre dominated by a crescent shaped mark centred on the cleft base. There may be other less evident markings more evident in the female.
The larvae can be found on the foodplant during the spring as they rest along the mid-rib on the upper surface. https://mothdissection.co.uk/species.php?Tx=Marasmarcha_lunaedactylaRecorded in 27 (47%) of 58 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1946.
Last Recorded in 2023. |