Ancylis myrtillana

Wingspan about14 mm. Care is needed to distinguish this species from the more frequently encountered Ancylis badiana.

This species is associated with moorland habitats where the larval foodplants are present.

Adult moths fly from May to July, both in afternoon sunshine and from dusk onwards.

The foodplants are Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and Bog Bilberry (V. uliginosum), the larva creating a kind of pod by spinning two leaves together.

Chiefly found on high moors such as those found in northern England and Scotland, although it does also occur to some extent in low heaths in the southern counties and Wales. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

It appears to be uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland, where there are few records. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded).