Four-spotted

The adult visits flowers, such as those of the larval foodplant. Flies in sunshine and also after dark, coming to light.

Overwinters as a pupa. The larva feeds from late June to August and again in September, feeding at night.

Size and Family

• Family – Ophiderines
• Small Sized 
• Wingspan Range – 25-29mm

Conservation Status

• UK BAP: Priority species
• Nationally Scarce

Caterpillar Food Plants

Field Bindweed (Convoluvulus arvensis)

Habitat

Often south-facing slopes, well-drained and open, typically with thin soils, such as field margins, embankments or calcareous grassland.

Distribution

• Countries – England
• Very local in southern and south-eastern England, with colonies in Dorset, Kent, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, and possibly Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and Somerset. Formerly elsewhere in the southern half of England, with occasional probable immigrants recorded elsewhere.
• Distribution Trend Since 1970’s = Britain: Declining