Description: Wingspan 26-32mm. Adult forewings are generally a pale sandy colour with white lines and bands. From late May to early August.

World Distribution: Across most of Europe including north Africa.

Irish Distribution: A scarce species with a northern distribution in Ireland. Confined mainly to Down in N. Ireland. There had been no recent records of this moth until the early 1990s when an individual was taken at John's Island in 1993. Since then the records have been sporadic and mainly from the Belfast area in Belvoir Park Forest and Lagan Meadows. It has not been reported for many years from some of its previously known sites at Ballygally Head near Larne, Antrim, Killymoon, Tyrone and Moneymore, Londonderry. Adults are active from dusk onwards but are not strongly attracted to light, which may account for its scarcity even at some well-known sites.

Ecology: An elusive species found mainly in woodlands, clearings and coastal sandy areas. Individuals have been taken during the day on the Copeland Islands off the County Down coast. The larvae can be found from July until September on the seedpods of Red Silene dioica and Bladder Campion Silene vulgaris. It overwinters as a pupa.

Key Identification Features:

• Central band lighter at inner and outer margins
• Pale white hindwings
• Difficult to identify when worn

Distribution Map from NBN: Perizoma flavofasciata at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Perizoma flavofasciata at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.