72.005 BF2479

Paignton Snout Hypena obesalis

Treitschke, 1829

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Wingspan c.40mm.

A rare migrant species to southern England, with only a handful of records to date. The first record was of one at Paignton in Devon, in 1908, which resulted in the vernacular name.

It is the largest of the well-marked Hypena species to have occurred in Britain, and approaches The Snout (H. propboscidalis) in size.

The adult depicted was trapped at Timsbury in Somerset on 21 September 2003, and is only the fourth British record.

Occurring in central Europe, the species flies from July onwards and overwinters as an adult.

The larva feeds on nettle (Urtica dioica) although the early stages have not occurred in Britain.