Pale Prominent (Pterostoma palpina) | Species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Male. Taken at Aston, Oxon., on May 18th 2024. (© David Hastings) (1/200th sec at f11) DescriptionFamily: Notodontidae (ABH : 71.020) Wing span: 36 - 50mm A very distinctive moth, which resembles a piece of broken wood. It has large upturned palps at the front, and divided tail tufts on the long abdomen of the male. The fore-wing is greyish-straw with dark veins and dots. The antennae are feathered, strongly in the male. It is well-distributed and common in southern Britain, most of mainland Scotland, and Ireland. It can be found in most places where the larval food-plants grow. There are two generations, May to June and July to August. It over-winters as a pupa. Larvae feed on aspen, other poplars and willows. The male comes regularly to light, the female very infrequently. Earliest UK sighting: 13th May ; Latest UK sighting: 14th August Sightings
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