Local with a preference for dry pastures, downland and fens throughout England and Wales. The distribution in Hampshire mirrors those areas in which trapping effort is concentrated, and the moth is probably more widely distributed than the records suggest; not yet recorded on the Isle of Wight. Wingspan 18-22 mm. The earliest Cnephasia to emerge and the only one on the wing during most of May, about the size of Grey Tortrix C. stephensiana and usually with a paler ground colour and paler brownish fascia, but like all Cnephasia, identification can only be confirmed by dissection of genitalia. Larva feeds on various herbaceous plants, living within a spun or rolled leaf.
Flightime guide |
Stage | J | F | M |
A | M | J |
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O | N | D |
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Larval |
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