Photo © Mike Wall

Six-spot Burnet

Zygaena filipendulae

Checklist Number
54.008 [B&F: 0169]

Verification
Record will be accepted (subject to date and location checks)

Classification

Family:Zygaenidae
Subfamily:Zygaeninae
Genus:Zygaena
Species:filipendulae
Authority:(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common on flower meadows, roadside verges, downland, woodland rides and sand-dunes throughout the British Isles, predominantly coastal in the north of its range. In Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight by far the commonest and most widely distributed burnet moth, about four times more numerous than the second most frequent burnet moth, Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet Z. lonicerae. Wingspan 25-39 mm. Day-flying. Unmistakable — no other British species of burnet moth has six spots. Larva feeds on Bird's-foot Trefoil and Horseshoe Vetch, over-wintering at least once.

The abundance in each month is indicated as follows:

No records
Very occasional
Irregular
Uncommon
Off-peak, but not unusual
Off-peak, but not unusual
Main flight time
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Adult
Larval

Records by week (adult)

Records by week (larval)