Noctuidae

73.171 Rosy Minor Litoligia literosa (Haworth, 1809)

Common

Similar species: If care is taken this moth is unlikely to be mistaken for any other British or Irish species.

Forewing: 10 to 13mm

Habitats: Coastal calcareous downland, sea-cliffs, sand-dunes, vegetated shingle, grassland scrub and fens.

Habits: The moth visits flowers such as Common Ragwort and Marram. It also comes to sugar and light.

Foodplant: The larva feeds at first on the roots and then inside the lower stems of Cock's-foot, Marram, Lyme grass, Glaucous Sedge, other sedges and grasses and cereals such as Wheat and Oats. It pupates in a flimsy cocoon in the leaf litter or under the soil.

On the European mainland it has also been recorded feeding on Reed Canary-grass and fescues.