Geometridae

70.131 Twin-spot Carpet Mesotype didymata didymata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common

Mesotype didymata hethlandica (Rebel, 1910)

Common Shetland

Similar species: The twin spots, pointed wings and the males feathered antennae distinguish this moth from similar species.

Forewing: 11 to 15mm

Habitats: Mountain moorland, upland forest rides, lowland woodland, rough grassland and scrub, hedgerows, sand-dunes and sea-cliffs.

Habits: The male flies mainly on warm afternoons and at dusk, but is easily disturbed at other times. The female can be found resting on vegetation at night. Both sexes fly from dusk, nectar on the flowers of grasses and Heather and come to light.

Foodplant: The larva feeds on Heather, Bilberry, sallows, willowherbs, Greater Stitchwort, Red Campion, Cow Parsley, docks and other herbaceous plants. It is more rarely recorded on the flowers of coarse grasses or wood-rushes and also Lodgepole Pine and Sitka Spruce. It pupates in a cocoon in the leaf litter.