35.077 BF740

Monochroa hornigi

(Staudinger, 1883)

Wingspan c.10-12mm.

First recorded in the early 1960s from Buckingham Palace garden, this elusive species has since been found, usually singly, in several locations mainly across southern England.

The larvae feed internally in the stems of knotweed (Persicaria and Polygonum) but do not show signs of their presence. They have been found by splitting dead stems of the foodplant.

Adult moths fly in July and August and are somewhat nondescript in appearance.