Agonopterix alstromeriana

Wingspan 17-20 mm. Fairly unmistakable combination of large black costal blotch with adjacent rusty red elongate mark and prominent apical dots.

Areas where foodplant (Hemlock) is found including roadsides, waste ground, marshes and river sides.

August to April.

The larvae feed on the flowers and leaves of Hemlock (Conium maculatum) between May and July.

Reasonably common over most of the British Isles. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

Fairly frequent but not common in Leicestershire and Rutland. L&R Moth Group status = B (scarce resident or restricted distribution or regular migrant)