62.057 BF1485

Phycitodes maritima

(Tengström, 1848)

Wingspan 18-22 mm.

One of three British species of Phycitodes which are difficult to separate from one another and are best identified by dissection of the genitalia.

P. maritima occurs throughout much of England, though commoner in the south and east, and occurs inland as well as coastally, despite the scientific name.

The moths fly from May to August, possibly in two generations, and the larvae feed on yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), chiefly in the flower-heads.