Hantsmoths

Common in rough ground, damp meadows, heathland and fens throughout the British Isles. In Hampshire only regular in the south-east; extremely scarce on the Isle of Wight. Wingspan 11-16 mm. The male of E. marginana can be distinguished from both sexes of E. gentianaeana and E. oblongana by its conspicuously white hindwings; the female is not so readily distinguished, having only the basal area of the hindwing paler. Both sexes can be usually separated from small specimens of E. gentianaeana by the narrow band of whitish ground colour beyond the median fascia of the forewing [Bradley]. Larva feeds principally within the seedheads of Teasel, but also Betony, Common Hemp-nettle, Lousewort and Yellow-rattle.

Perhaps the easiest way to determine presence of either species is to pull apart dried teasel heads to find larvae. To determine whether a larva is Endothenia marginana or Endothenia gentianaeana, examine the posterior end for the presence of an anal comb and closely inspect the head capsule colour. E. marginana larvae have a black or dark brown head and possess a distinctive anal comb that is absent in E. gentianaeana. In contrast, E. gentianaeana larvae have a dark brown head (not black) and lack an anal comb.