49.366 BF1225

Pammene obscurana

(Stephens, 1834)

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Wingspan c.13 mm.

A scarce and local species in the British Isles, but recorded from a number of areas from southern England northwards to Northumberland.

The species inhabits heaths and mosses where the larval foodplant, birch, grows, and the adults fly in the afternoon and early evening. May and June is the normal flight period.

The early stages are not well known in Britain, but on the continent, the larva is known to feed in the catkins of birch (Betula).