Hantsmoths

Rare (proposed as a future Red Data Book species). A previously undiscovered resident, recorded in Britain for the first time in Cambridgeshire in July 1977. A colony was found on the Isle of Grain, Kent, in the 1990s. Recorded once in Hampshire, at Southsea in June 1982, and once on the Isle of Wight, at Totland in June 20008. Wingspan 18-23 mm. Larger than E. lacteana and further distinguished by the lack of a basal patch in the forewing and the presence of a semi-elliptical postmedial patch on the dorsum; well-marked specimens are reminiscent of E. pupillana but may be distinguished by the subbasal fascia, which is inward-oblique from the middle to the dorsum, and the poorly developed ocellus [Bradley]. Larva feeds on stems of Mugwort and Wormwood.

VC10 Isle of Wight

VC11 South Hampshire