73.216 BF2318

The Dun-bar Cosmia trapezina

(Linnaeus, 1758)

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Wingspan 25-33 mm.

A variable species, with the ground colour ranging from ochreous-yellow to dark brown, with a varyingly contrasting band on the forewing. However it is distinctly different from the other British Cosmia species, and not difficult to identify.

The moths fly from July to September, and come to both light and sugar.

It is commonly distributed over much of Britain, and the larvae feed on a range of deciduous trees. They are also well-known for their cannibalistic tendencies towards larvae of other moths, and to their own species in captivity.