GALIUM CARPET |
EPIRRHOE GALIATA |
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| Fig 1 |
ADULT: Wingspan 38 - 34mm. If one suspects that a specimen caught is not the usual Carpet species the first item on the identification checklist is to note whether or not the forewings curve inwards on the leading edge. If the answer is 'yes' then you most certainly have a Galium Carpet. The dark bluish central crossband has one double-domed blunt projection and there are usually two dark spots on the forewing near the outer edge. CHRYSALIS: Overwinters as a pupa. LARVA: Feeds on various bedstraws. BEHAVIOUR: Attracted to light. HABITAT: Dry chalk areas such as downlands, heathlands and cliffs near the sea. FLIGHT PERIOD: Single brooded in North, double brooded in the South. June to August. STATUS: Resident. Common in South-East England and Wales becoming scarcer further North. |