Hantsmoths

Apart from a couple of obscure 19th Century records, the only British example of this European species is one which was reared from an unrecognised larva found on mugwort at Nazeing, south Essex on 4 September 1971. Not recorded in Hampshire or on the Isle of Wight to date. Wingspan 37-40 mm. The main confusion species are Wormwood C. absinthii, which see for differences, and Cudweed C. gnaphalii, which has forewing broader, lacking dentations on fasciae but with a horizontal streak above tornus and a dark crescent facing it, which are absent in Scarce Wormwood (MBGBI Vol 10). Larva feeds on Mugwort and Wormwood, no evidence of breeding in the UK.