50.003 BF160

Reed Leopard Phragmataecia castaneae

(Hübner, 1790)

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Wingspan 27-50 mm.

This is a local and scarce species in Britain, being confined to parts of East Anglia, and a single locality in Dorset.

As the English name suggests, it inhabits reed-beds, where the larva feeds internally in the stems of common reed (Phragmites australis).

The adults, which fly in June and July, have distinctively long abdomens, which project markedly beyond the wingtips at rest.