Clara Vale on 23rd August 2008

Gordon Pollinger

The larvae feed on a wide range of ground layer and (less frequently) arboreal aphids. Adults are often seen visiting flowers such as white umbells, Cirsium and Carduus. This is a migrant which reaches Britain around June from southern and central Europe, breeding here to give a generation in late summer. Although it is known to overwinter in central Europe, there is little evidence of this from western Europe suggesting that it annual occurrence is totally dependent on immigration In Ireland and western Scotland, the earliest records are in July, suggesting that it is does not usually manage to breed in these areas

Distribution: Widespread in the lowlands of the southern half of Britain. In northern England and southern Scotland records are noticeably clustered along the east coast, as one might expect for a migrant species. It seems to be scarce further north in Scotland, although it is recorded north to Shetland. The numbers of records received vary greatly between years