Geometridae

70.120 Argent and Sable Rheumaptera hastata hastata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Notable B throughout

Rheumaptera hastata nigrescens (Cockerell 1889)

Notable B Scotland

Similar species: Unlikely to be mistaken for other British or Irish species.

Forewing: ssp.hastata:16 to 19mm ssp.nigrescens:13 to 15mm

Habitats: Open woodland, coppiced woodland, other cleared areas in woodland, wooded marsh and fenland, bogs and moorland, including the lower slopes in the Scottish Highlands.

Habits: The male flies in sunshine searching for females. The female has been recorded egg-laying during the day.

Foodplant: The larva feeds in a spinning on the terminal leaves of Bog Myrtle, Downy Birch and Silver Birch. It pupates in the spinning which later falls into the leaf litter.