UKMoths Anarsia spartiella
35.020 BF856
Anarsia spartiella
(Schrank, 1802)
Wingspan 12-15 mm.
Distributed throughout much of England, local in Scotland and mostly coastal in Wales and Ireland, this species is on the wing between June and August.
The wings may be relatively plain, or have darker and paler mottling. The long, upwardly curved, labial palps of the female protrude from a large tuft of scales, but the shorter palps of the male are concealed in the tuft.
In May and June, the larvae spin the shoots of gorse (Ulex), broom (Cytisus) or Dyer's greenweed (Genista tinctoria), feeding within.
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