Epermenia chaerophyllella

Wingspan 12 to14 mm. A rather variable but distinctive species, with its raised triangular scale-tufts visible when at rest. The moth is a mixture of blackish, chestnut and white in variable amounts.

Well vegetated areas with plenty of umbellifers.

All year round. It occurs in two or three generations with the last generation overwintering as an adult.

The larvae feed on umbelliferous plants, perhaps most often Hogweed but also Wild Parsnip and Angelica among others. In later instars the larvae feed gregariously on the underside of the leaves, creating distinctive feeding windows.

Said to be fairly common in Britain but records are very scattered. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

Uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded)