70.07 BF1745

The Mallow Larentia clavaria

(Haworth, 1809)

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Wingspan 36-40 mm.

Distributed throughout England and Wales and into southern Scotland, this species is commoner in the south. It also occurs locally in Ireland.

Occupying a range of suburban habitats, waste ground and ditches or riverbanks, the adults are on the wing during September and October.

As the English name suggests, the main larval foodplant is mallow (Malva sylvestris), but the caterpillars will also eat cultivated hollyhock (Alcea).