Description: Wingspan 42-54mm. Adults when fresh are a whitish green colour but this quickly fades to ochreous white in older individuals. There are two distinct cross-lines on the forewings which are light brown edged with white. The hindwings are similar and have a single cross-line. The tips of the forewings are finely pointed. Mid-June to mid-August, however occasional adults are found in early September.

World Distribution: Throughout Europe.

Irish Distribution: Common and widespread throughout southern counties, scarcer further north, with populations more widely dispersed.

Ecology: A distinctive species found commonly in woodland sites, bogs, fens and occasionally gardens. Adults appear frequently at light in small numbers. The larvae can be found in September through to May of the following year on oak Quercus spp., birch Betula spp., beech Fagus sylvatica and Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna. It overwinters as a larva.

Key Identification Features:

• Whitish green colour, which quickly fades
• Body plain white
• Single crossline on hindwings

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

iNaturalist: Campaea margaritata at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.