Description: Wingspan 30-43mm. Forewings creamy white in male, silky white in female. Hindwings similar in colour marked with a small discal spot and a variable number of small dots near the outer margin of the wing. The abdomen is white with a series of black marks along the dorsal surface. Colouring is variable with some adults having slight ochreous tint to the forewings. From the beginning of May until late-June.

World Distribution: Across northern and central Europe as far east as Asia Minor.

Irish Distribution: A commonly recorded species across north Armagh and Down with scattered localities in other counties. Less frequent than both the White and Buff Ermines.

Ecology: A species associated with damp woodland, bogs, and marshy areas. The males appear frequently at light in small numbers. The larvae feed from July until September on dock Rumex spp, plantain Plantago spp, Dandelion Taraxacum officinale and possibly other herbaceous plants. It overwinters as a pupa.

Key Identification Features:

• Large hairy thorax
• White abdomen
• Discal spot on wings

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

iNaturalist: Diaphora mendica at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.