Epiblema costipunctana

Alternative names
Ragwort Root-borer
Ragwort Bell
Description

Wingspan 13 to 18 mm. A well marked moth with reddish brown patterning and a broad pale blotch.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

This species can be found on open uncultivated and waste ground and similar habitats, especially where ragwort is present.

When to see it

The moths are bivoltine in the south, flying from May to July and again from late July to September. In Scotland there is one generation, in June and July. The moths can sometimes be found at rest on the foodplant by day.

Life History

The foodplant is ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), the larvae feeding internally in the stems or roots.

UK Status

Found throughout much of the British Isles, though it is more local in Scotland. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

VC55 Status

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

Reference
49.289 BF1187

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Ragwort Bell, Ragwort Root-borer
Species group:
insect - moth
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Tortricidae
Records on NatureSpot:
9
First record:
25/05/2004 (Skevington, Mark)
Last record:
10/07/2025 (Leonard, Pete)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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