Leek Moth - Acrolepiopsis assectella

Wingspan about 12 mm. A small brown species with a distinctive dorsal white blotch. However Acrolepiopsis betulella is very similar and detailed examination is necessary.

Associated with Leeks and other Allium species it is most likely to be found in areas where they occur.

It flies in two generations, in June and July, and from October through the winter to early spring.

As the English name suggests, the larvae of this species feed on cultivated species of Allium such as leek, onion and chive. Although it has the potential to be a pest, it is rather scarce in Britain. The larva pupates in an open network cocoon, either on the foodplant or close by.

Quite a scarce and local species which is distributed mainly in the south-east of England, especially around the coast. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

Rare but probably increasing in Leicestershire and Rutland. The Sapcote specimen of 31st March 2014 is the first record of this species in VC55. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded).