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Four-spotted -
Four-spotted
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Four-spotted -
Four-spotted
Scientific nameTyta luctuosa
Flies in sunshine and also after dark, coming to light.
The adult visits flowers, such as those of the larval foodplant. Double brooded on Portland, Dorset; mid May to mid September, elsewhere from mid May to early July with a partial second generation to late August. Occasionally seen in late April.
Size and Family
- Family – Ophiderines
- Small Sized
- Wing Span Range (male to female) - 25-29mm
Conservation status
- UK BAPPriority Species
- Nationally Scarce
Caterpillar Description
Overwinters as a pupa. The larva feeds from late June to August and again in September, feeding at night
Particular Caterpillar Food Plants
Field Bindweed (Convoluvulus arvensis)
Distribution
- Countries – England
- Very local in southern and south-eastern England, with colonies in Dorset, Kent, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, and possibly Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and Somerset. Formerly elsewhere in the southern half of England, with occasional probable immigrants recorded elsewhere.
- Distribution Trend Since 1970’s = BritainDeclining
Habitat
Often south-facing slopes, well-drained and open, typically with thin soils, such as field margins, embankments or calcareous grassland