72.046 BF(2048)

Northern Footman Eilema complana f. sericea

(Gregson, 1860)

Wingspan c.34 mm.

The specific status of Northern Footman is unclear, and some authorities consider it to be an ecotype of Scarce Footman Eilema complana and is treated as such here. However, it has certain differences, for example a dark suffusion to the hindwing, and is still regarded as a separate species by many. It occurs primarily in northern England, particularly in Shropshire, but also in Lancashire, Cheshire, North Wales and the Isle of Man, but the form is unknown outside Britain.

Occurring on mosses, peat bogs and marshy moorland, the adults fly in July, and the larvae, like other footmen species, feed on lichen.