CHINESE CHARACTER
Cilix glaucata

Although moderately common throughout England this charming little species is less often found the further north you travel. It turns up occasionally in August in my garden in Ulverston, which is hardly surprising as we have a hawthorn hedge and that is the foodplant of the larva.

It's little more than 15 mm from top to toe and takes its name from its wing markings, which resemble a Chinese silk painting! It is perhaps more remarkable for its camouflage - when at rest, with its wings steeply folded against its body, it is virtually indistinguishable from a bird dropping! Anyone who runs a mothtrap may well find this species on the outside of the trap in the morning, it having evaded the predations of birds who all too frequently take other moths that have not ventured inside the trap to safety. It is also sometimes found at rest on vegetation during the daytime.

There are two generations, one of which overwinters as a pupa in a cocoon attached to leaves and bark. The adult emerges in April or May and lays the eggs that form a second adult generation in August. The larvae feed on hawthorn, blackthorn and bramble. It is about 12 mm long, reddish brown with a pronounced tail. Segments 2 and 3 are enlarged and each have a pair of small pointed warts.