Wood-sage Plume - Capperia britanniodactylus

Wingspan 18 to 21 mm.

Good close-up photograph required.

It likes dry, south-facing and sloping stony habitats, where Wood Sage is present.

The moths fly in June and July, and are only generally seen from dusk onwards, hiding by day amongst the foodplants.

The larvae feed on Wood Sage. In spring, it bites through a stem of the foodplant, causing it to wilt. These wilted stems can be quite obvious and are a good indicator to find the larva, which feeds amongst the drooping leaves.

This species is distributed widely in mainland Britain, but can be very local. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as Nationally Scarce B.

Rare in Leicestershire and Rutland.