Pterostoma palpina (Clerck, 1759)

Description: Wingspan 42-60mm. Adults are pale brownish-grey. The forewings have fine blackish streaks and are heavily scalloped. The hindwings are brownish-grey with a dark-coloured discal mark. Adults rest on the trunk of a tree or among ground vegetation with wings wrapped around body and palps elongated to resemble a dead leaf.

Key Identification Features:

• Resting posture
• Dorsal crest
• Deeply scalloped forewings

Sets:

Flight Period: The beginning of May to the end of June and again in August, suggesting a partial second generation. There are occasional records from early July.

Status: Widespread and commonly encountered in north Armagh, parts of Down and Fermanagh. Elsewhere sporadic with few recent records in northern counties.

Ecology: Probably under recorded in a few other localities in the north where suitable habitat exsists. Adults are attracted to light in small numbers. The larvae can be found during July and again from late August to September on poplar aspen and sallow. No larvae (as far as is known) have been found in N. Ireland but I would suspect in view of the scarcity of poplar and aspen at many of its recorded localities it seems more likely that it may be using sallow as its main foodplant. It overwinters as a pupa.

World Distribution: Throughout much of Europe as far east as Japan.

Bradley & Fletcher number: 2011 Agassiz number: 71.020

Additional information:

UK Moths account

Caterpillar: