Hantsmoths

Recorded infrequently through accidental importation in produce from sub-Saharan Africa, although may be capable of reaching our shores in an apparently wild state. Recorded for the first time in the gardens of Buckingham Palace on 17 July 1964 following a visit from a delegation from East Africa. Immature stages were also found in produce at Heathrow and Stansted airports in 1979. Adults were trapped at Lymington, Hampshire, on the night of 23 July 1982, followed by one at Dungeness, Kent on 11 September 1999. Not recorded from the Isle of Wight to date. Wingspan 18-25 mm. Characterised by dark purplish-brown terminal fringe on forewing, occasionally also found on Cream-bordered Green Pea E. clorana, and faint antemedian and postmedian lines. Larva feeds on Cotton, causing sufficient damage to be of commercial interest in native areas.

VC11 South Hampshire