Rannoch Looper - Macaria brunneata
Wingspan 25 to 30 mm. A brown moth - both sexes have darker brownish crosslines on the wings, although the female is usually more strongly marked than the male.
A
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Favouring areas where the larval foodplants, Bilberry and Cowberry occur, but migrants could turn up from time to time in other habitats.
It is a day-flying species, and usually rests butterfly-like, with the wings held closed. The adults appear in June and July.
The caterpillars are brown with a pale spiracular stripe, and feed on Bilberry and Cowberry.
Formerly restricted to the mature woodland areas of central Scotland, but there’s an occasional influx of records of migrants in southern England. In a recent survey to determine the status of all macro moths in Britain this species was classified as Nationally Scarce A.
Rarely recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland.
Andy Mackay
Groby
16 June 2023
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Species profile
- Common names
- Rannoch Looper
- Species group:
- insect - moth
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
- Order:
- Lepidoptera
- Family:
- Geometridae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 1
- First record:
- 16/06/2023 (Mackay, Andy)
- Last record:
- 16/06/2023 (Mackay, Andy)
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