Local in scrub, woodland, plantations and rocky areas by the sea, in south-west England, west Wales and the west coast of Scotland, also in a few places in central and southern England. In Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight this species all but disappeared in the second half of the 1940s, but has increased dramatically in the last few years, and is now to be found throughout the New Forest, in the Test Valley around Leckford and Chilbolton, and on the Isle of Wight. Wingspan 31-38 mm. Fairly unmistakable. Larva feeds on various lichens.