Stathmopoda pedella

Wingspan 10 to 14 mm. This small but distinctive moth has a very characteristic resting position. It rests with its enlarged tufted banded hind legs with long spurs almost at right angles to the body and angled slightly upwards.

Often around Alder, the larval food plant.

Adults fly in June and July.

Larvae feed on the seeds of ripening fruits of Alder but show little sign of their presence.

It is widespread but extremely local in southern and south-eastern England. A few scattered populations occur further north. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as Nationally Scarce B.

Rare in Leicestershire and Rutland. The specimen from Wirlybones Wood at Ratby on 10th June 2011 is only the 4th VC55 record and the first for 5 years. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded).