72.0872 BF2457

Trent Double-stripe Clytie illunaris

(Hübner, [1813])

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Wingspan c. 40mm.

This species has only ever been recorded once in the British Isles, probably as an accidental introduction. A larva was found by the River Trent in Lincolnshire in 1964 and was reared to an adult.

The moth is quite variable, but well-marked specimens have a dark, jagged postmedian fascia. The reniform stigma is paler than the ground colour, edged with darker, and with a darker centre.

The single British larva was found feeding on horse-radish (Armoracia rusticana), but in the species' normal distribution of Mediterranean and southern Europe, the foodplants are generally tamarisk (Tamarix gallica) and bog-myrtle (Myrica gale).