Swammerdamia pyrella - 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.

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16.017 BF438

Swammerdamia pyrella

(Villers, 1789)


Wingspan 10-13 mm.

One of several related and rather similar species which can be difficult to separate as adults without reference to the structure of the genitalia. S. pyrella is generally a little smaller and darker than its congeners, and has a rufous tinge to the wingtip.

It is a common species throughout most of Britain and Ireland, except in the far north, and flies in two generations, during May and August.

The larvae feed on hawthorn (Crataegus), apple (Malus) and pear (Pyrus), and like several related species, live under a slight web on the upper surface of a leaf. They are quite distinctively marked in yellow and brown.
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