Hantsmoths

A species of woodland clearings, woodland edges, undercliffs and scrub; 0-300 m (0-1900 m in Europe) in southern England, where populations have massively declined, and parts of Ireland, where still widespread; mainland Europe and Scandinavia. Not recorded in Hampshire or on the Isle of Wight since the 1940s: at the end of the 19th Century it was widespread, particularly in the north of Hampshire, but had disappeared from most areas, including the New Forest, by the 1920s. Wingspan 36-48 mm. In Ireland, it is indistinguishable in the field from Cryptic Wood White, from which separable only by dissection of the genitalia. Larva feeds on Meadow Vetchling, Bitter Vetchling, Tufted Vetch, Bird's-foot Trefoil and Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil.