Horse Chestnut Pachycnemia hippocastanaria
Horse Chestnut Pachycnemia hippocastanaria
Adult • Argeles, S. France • © Ian Kimber

70.225 BF1905

Horse Chestnut Pachycnemia hippocastanaria

(Hübner, [1799])


Wingspan 28-32 mm.

A distinctly southern species in Britain, occurring only on the heaths of the southernmost counties, although in places can be fairly common.

The moths fly in April and May, with a second brood in August, usually with fewer and smaller moths, although in some parts of the country, the autumn brood now appears to produce more records.

Both the English and Latin names refer to the horse chestnut, but the origins of these are unknown, as the larval foodplant is heather (Calluna).
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