Maps updated: April 2008

Melanchra persicariae (Linnaeus, 1761)

Description: Wingspan 38-50 mm. Forewings almost black with a white reniform stigma. The crosslines are obscure with the exception of the subterminal line, which is made up of a series of pale ochreous dots. Hindwings pale whitish brown with a small lunule and darkish veining.

Key Identification Features:

• Black colouration
• Prominent white stigma
• Pale broken subterminal line on forewing
• Small lunule on hindwing

Sets:

Flight Period: There is insufficient information to give a reliable flight period. Skinner gives July and August as the main flight period in Britain.

Status: Rare, with only one recent record from Rathlin Island in the late 1980s. Donovan (1936) regarded this species as being local in Ireland and gave records for Rostrevor, Antrim and Fermanagh. Some of the more recent records are unacceptable in the absence of corroborating specimens. The current status of this species in N. Ireland is still unknown.

Ecology: A rather distinctive moth usually associated with suburban areas especially in Britain. In southern Ireland it has been found in a variety of habitats, particularly in the east but never commonly. The larvae feed from the late summer to autumn on a wide variety of garden plants and also willow Salix spp., Elder Sambucus nigra and young larch Larix spp. trees. It overwinters as a pupa.

World Distribution: Throughout western Europe as far north as southern Finland.

Caterpillar: