ABH: 73.072
BF: 2401
Family: Noctuidae
Subfamily: Heliothinae
Taxon: Heliothis viriplaca
Authority: (Hufnagel, 1766)
Vernacular: Marbled Clover
Account: A rare Red Data Book species, on chalk downland in south-eastern England. Resident very locally from the Breckland to Hampshire, Wiltshire and east Gloucestershire, but it appears to have become very much scarcer in recent times. It still appears to be well established in parts of Breckland, though its habitat there has also been restricted by the planting of conifers and increasingly intensive agriculture. There is a wide scatter of singletons from south and east England that are probably immigrants Larva feeds on flowers and seedheads of Common Restharrow, Spiny Restharrow, Common Toadflax, White Campion, Bladder Campion, Wild Carrot, Smooth Hawk's-beard, Red Clover and Sticky Groundsel, over-wintering as a pupa.
Wingspan: 34 — 37 mm
Surrey Flight Period: 27 Aug (1952) — 27 Aug (1952)
Foodplant: Crepis sp., Linaria sp., Silene sp., Trifolium sp.
Status: Least Concern (LC)
UK BAP:
WCA:
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Verification Grade: 2 — Care needed to identify, an image may be required 🤔
Further Information: https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/heliothis-viriplaca/
* Based on adult records only.
Records: 1
Individuals: 1
Earliest Year: 1952
Latest Year: 1952