73.286 BF2167

Tawny Shears Hadena perplexa

([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

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Wingspan 27-36 mm.

Inhabiting dry grassy or stony habitats such as chalk downland and shingle beaches, this species is fairly well distributed across England and Wales and into the south of Scotland.

There is quite a range of variation in the ground colour and marking intensity, with paler specimens in the south-east and darker or duller ones in the north and west.

The moths fly in May and June, sometimes again in autumn in the south, and the larvae feed on the seeds of various campions (Silene spp.).