Species Details

ABH: 73.338

BF: 2118

Family: Noctuidae

Subfamily: Noctuinae

Taxon: Lycophotia porphyrea

Authority: ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

Vernacular: True Lover's Knot

Account: Common on heathland, moorland and in gardens where heather is grown throughout the British Isles; very common on the heaths of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and increasingly recorded from gardens containing heather. Wingspan 26-34 mm. Unmistakable. Larva feeds on Heather and Bell Heather.

Accounts provided by and used with the kind permission of Mike Wall, Hampshire County Moth Recorder. These will in due course be gradually replaced with species accounts with a Surrey context.

Wingspan: 26 — 34 mm

Surrey Flight Period: 12 May (2020) — 17 Sep (2012)

The flight period of overwintering adults are not given. See the flight chart below the distribution map.

Foodplant: Calluna sp., Erica sp.

Foodplant accounts are from the HOSTS database — Natural History Museum, London, UK. (CC0).

Status: Vulnerable (VU)

UK BAP:

WCA:

Click here to view the full geology map of Surrey.

Verification Grade: 1 — Relatively easily identified 👌

Further Information: https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/lycophotia-porphyrea/

Statistics

* Based on adult records only.

Records: 957

Individuals: 1107

Earliest Year: 1842

Latest Year: 2025

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