Scalloped Hook-tip

An unmistakable moth with an irregularly scalloped edge to the forewing. At rest the wings are folded like a tent over the body resembling a dried leaf. There are two dark parallel cross-lines and a small dark dot between them. The females are more yellow-orange in colour whereas the males are more grey-brown.

The adults fly at night and are attracted to light. The larvae can be seen from June to July and August to September before overwintering as pupae in a folded leaf from the foodplant, dropping to the ground with the leaves as they are shed before winter.

Size and Family

• Family – Hook-tips (Drepanidae)
• Small Sized
• Wingspan Range – 28-36mm

Conservation status

• UK BAP: Not listed
• Common

Caterpillar Food Plants

Downy Birch (Betula pubescens) and Silver Birch (Betula pendula).

Habitat

Usually found in woodland, scrub, heathland and bogs. Also found in garden and hedgerows.

Distribution

• Countries – England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland
• Well distributed in England north to Yorkshire and Cumbria, Wales, Ireland and mainland Scotland into some of the Hebrides. Rare in the Channel Islands.