UKMoths Reed Tussock Laelia coenosa - Distribution map
Please note that the NBN Gateway map service has been terminated as of 1 April 2017.
As soon as a replacement map service is available, distribution maps will hopefully appear here again.
In the meantime, you can get some idea of distribution from the NBN Atlas website.
72.014 BF2024
Reed Tussock Laelia coenosa
(Hübner, [1808])
Wingspan c. 46-50mm.
This rather attractive species is now unfortunately extinct in the British Isles. It was formerly resident in a number of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire Fens in the 19th century, but suffered as a result of a combination of drainage of the fens and collectors, and was last noted in 1879.
It occurs abroad in Europe, North Africa and eastward to Asia, where the larvae feed on reed (Phragmites), sedge (Cladium) and similar foodplants.
The male moths have distinctive feathered antennae and a slight buffish suffusion to the forewing, sometimes with a few faint darker dots. Females are whitish. The normal flight period is July and August.
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