Hantsmoths

Formerly a rare immigrant from mainland Europe, appearing in south-eastern England for the first time at Greatstone, Kent, in October 1995, with about a dozen subsequent records, mostly between Dungeness and Rye Harbour in subsequent years. First reported in our area at Southsea in 2006, but since 2011 has been recorded annually in the south-east of the Isle of Wight and the Portsmouth / Hayling area of Hampshire and is now locally established as a breeding species in our area, as it is in other coastal counties in southern and eastern England, where it can be relatively common. The first North Hampshire record occurred in September 2023, in Whitehill, Bordon. Wingspan 22-26 mm. Larva feeds on Broom and Ivy.