70.155 BF1823

Netted Pug Eupithecia venosata

(Fabricius, 1787)

Wingspan 17-22 mm.

Widely distributed, though local, throughout most of Britain, this rather attractive species inhabits sea-cliffs, rocky slopes and chalk or limestone areas.

It flies in May and June, in a single generation, from dusk into the night.

The larvae feed in the seed capsules of bladder campion (Silene vulgaris), or sea campion (S. maritima) near the coast.

Several more sombre-coloured subspecies have been identified in the Northern Isles.