483 Epermenia chaerophyllella
(Goeze, 1783)
Wingspan 12-14 mm.A rather variable but distinctive species, with its raised scale-tufts visible when at rest. The moth is a mixture of blackish, chestnut and white in variable amounts.
It is rather common throughout the British Isles and occurs in two or three generations, with the last generation overwintering as an adult.
The larvae feed on umbelliferous plants, perhaps most often hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) but also wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) and angelica (Angelica sylvestris) among others. In later instars the larvae feed gregariously on the underside of the leaves, creating distinctive feeding windows.
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