73.034 BF2277

Scarce Merveille du Jour Moma alpium

(Osbeck, 1778)

Wingspan 30-35 mm.

An unusual and very attractive species, with its marbled bluish-green and black forewings. The green colour tends not to fade as much as most other green moths.

It is a very local species in Britain, now confined to mature deciduous woodland in the very south and south-east of England.

It flies in June and July, and visits sugar and artificial light. The larvae feed, gregariously at first, on oak (Quercus).