Common Fleabane

Common Fleabane Pulicaria dysenterica is a valuable nectar source of late summer in damp areas and it is just coming into flower now.  It is also the food-plant of an under-recorded micro-moth, Apodia bifractella.  The moths tend not to stray far from the flowers and they are generally quite easy to spot during the daytime, so keep your eyes open if you are out and about.  I completed a butterfly count on Army land at Arncott this afternoon and managed to get records of it there for both VC23 and VC24.

Apodia bifractella, Arncott 3rd August

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks