Peribatodes rhomboidaria, Willow Beauty

Common Name: Willow Beauty

Peribatodes rhomboidaria, more commonly known as the Willow Beauty, has a wingspan of 30-38 mm and is commonly distributed throughout Britain to southern Scotland, but more local further north. Typical forms are brownish with darker streaks and markings, but there is also a greyish form, f.perfumaria, as well as an almost black melanic variant.

They are on the wing in July and August, sometimes again in September in the south. Occupying any suitable habitat, the larval foodplants are a number of deciduous trees including Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and also Ivy (Hedera helix).

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