Hantsmoths

Recent colonist and immigrant in southern England and on the Channel Islands, predominantly coastal. In Hampshire this southern European species was first recorded by John Langmaid in his Southsea trap on 29 June 1995, with another on 30 July that year. Exactly a year later than that last sighting, larvae were discovered in good numbers on Tamarisk on Sinah Common, Hayling, and in 1997 the first adults were captured on the Isle of Wight. Since then, it has become somewhat frequent at light around the coast of the Isle of Wight and coastal Hampshire from Southampton to Hayling, but remains rare to the west of the Test. Larvae remain confined to Hayling on the mainland, but more widespread on Wight. In 2021, there was a surprising sighting on an individual to a light trap in the north-east of Hampshire. Wingspan 13-17 mm. The most likely confusion species is Thyme Pug E. distinctaria, but smaller and lacking the black fascia of Thyme Pug. Larva feeds on Tamarisk, over-wintering as a pupa.