Vulnerable (proposed as a future Red Data Book species) on calcareous grassland in parts of south-eastern England and on mountainsides in central Scotland, rare elsewhere. Not recorded in Hampshire or on the Isle of Wight to date. Wingspan 11-16 mm. Can be separated from
P. leuwenhoekella by its larger size and the outwardly oblique angle of the second silver spot on the tornus of the forewing (MBGBI Vol 4 part 1). Larva feeds on leaves of certain Viola species whose leaves grow close to the ground. It windows the leaves from a silken tube in the soil.