Description: Wingspan 17-20 mm. Forewings pale greyish brown with chequered veining. There is also a black discal mark and the sub-marginal line is pale terminating in a white spot. The hindwings are similar in colour. Possibly double-brooded in N. Ireland, adults have been taken in May and June and again in August. Skinner gives May and June and August as the normal flight period in Britain.

World Distribution: Eurasiatic: widespread across Europe as far east as Japan.

Irish Distribution: Widely distributed in scattered sites across southern counties where all of the recent records are from. Well-known haunts include Rehaghy Mountain, Tyrone, Crom Estate, Fermanagh and Rostrevor, Down.

Ecology: A woodland species found in very small numbers at light. The larvae feed during June and July and possibly again in a second generation in September and October. Since little is known about its behaviour and ecology in N. Ireland it has been difficult to confirm if this is the case.

Key Identification Features:

• Chequered veining and pale sub-marginal line
• Black discal spot

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

iNaturalist: Eupithecia virgaureata at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.