Pea Moth - Cydia nigricana

Wingspan 12 to 16 mm. The adults are rather nondescript in appearance. The mainly brown wings have two or three short black dashes and other russet and white marks below.

Around plants of the pea family including Common Vetch where it is plentiful.

Between May and August, and can be found on the wing in sunshine, as well as at night.

Quite often a pest of cultivated and garden peas and various related Leguminosae, the larvae of this moth feed internally in the pods, eating away the peas themselves.

Its distribution ranges over much of mainland Britain, more plentifully in the south, and locally in Ireland. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

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