Psyche casta

Wingspan 12-15 mm. The adult males are plain, dull brownish moths. The females are wingless and grub-like in appearance.

Various habitats but look around tree trunks.

Both sexes emerge between May and July.

Known as 'bagworms' or 'case-bearers', the larvae of the Psychidae construct cases from fragments of plant material, in this instance, pieces of grass. The case is attached to a tree trunk or foliage, or quite often to a wooden fence or gate. The larvae feed on grasses, lichens and decaying vegetable matter.

The species is fairly common throughout the British Isles, but becoming less so further north. 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).