49.006 BF1004

Paramesia gnomana

(Clerck, 1759)

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Wingspan c.16-20 mm.

With only a couple of confirmed records in Britain from East Sussex in 1977 and 1983, and a doubtful one from Lancashire in the 19th century, this is a very rare visitor to these shores. It resembles a pale form of Clepsis spectrana and may have been overlooked.

It occurs in continental Europe and Asia, where it flies from June to August and is polyphagous, feeding on a range of plants in its dry grassland habitats.