The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.
Range & Status
Western oceanic, confined in Britain to Cornwall and Devon.
Regional Distribution
First discovered in Britain in 1917 on The Lizard (Keys, 1921) and found repeatedly until 1922; rediscovered there in 1986 by J.A. Owen.
Habitat & Ecology
Larvae root-feeding, while the adults occur at the base of plants, particularly Buck' s-horn Plantain Plantago coronopus where it grows on rocky sea cliffs. Has also been found in litter under heather.
Threats
Public pressure on sites, causing severe trampling and erosion of vegetation.
Conservation
The Lizard site lies within a SSSI.
I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.
The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.