Small Purple-barred
Scientific name: Phytometra viridari
May - August. Britain and Ireland. Small with brown forewing with pink-purple stripes. Often found near common milkwort and heath milkwort.
This rather small moth is usually very distinctively marked with two broad purple bars crossing the forewings, one in the middle and one down the edge. The background colour is olive-brown, sometimes the purple coloured bars are replaced by darker brown.
It flies very actively by day flitting from flower to flower in sunshine, but sometimes also flies at night.
Size and Family
- Family – Ophiderines
- Small Sized
Conservation status
- UK BAP: Not listed
- Local (only found in some areas)
Particular Caterpillar Food Plants
Common Milkwort, Heath Milkwort and Lousewort.
Distribution
- Countries – England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland
- Fairly well distributed throughout the England and Wales, becoming less frequent in the north and rare in the Channel Islands.
Habitat
Favours flowery situations on calcareous downland, heathland, moorland, woodland rides and coastal sand dunes wherever the foodplants occur.
