Hantsmoths

Recorded infrequently through accidental importation in pelargoniums from South Africa. In Britain found rarely in gardens and parks, first found in East Sussex in 1997. Recorded reliably in our area for the first time in Highcliffe, Dorset (VC11) on 10 September 2006, when at least 10 were seen over a period of a week, and it was one of the most common butterflies in the local area at that time (ignoring a report from a garden in Winchester in 1999 or 2000 which was retrospectively identified from a photo). Larva feeds on Geranium, and the Highcliffe record above presumably relates to a local breeding event occurring, either from accidental importation or, less likely, a primary immigrant.