Oak Beauty
Biston strataria

Late March and April.

Deciduous woodland, especially oak.

This fine spring moth is very local and western in our area, though apparently increasing.

Neither sex feeeds as an adult, but males come readily to light. Though fully winged, the female flies little and is rarely seen.

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Red Chestnut
Cerastris rubricosa

Late March to early May.

Most habitats, including marshes, moorland, carr and scrub.

Red Chestnut shares the lifestyle of the quakers, Orthosia spp., overwintering fully formed within the pupal case, ready to emerge in early spring.

It can often be found at sallow catkins. Our Scottish forms are often purplish grey, not red.

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Lead-coloured Drab
Orthosia populeti

April into early May.

Aspen woodland.

Requiring mature Aspen that produces catkins, Lead-coloured Drab is inevitably local in the Highlands, like its foodplant.

It is easily mistaken for related species in the genus, having similar coloration to Clouded Drab but with shape and jizz closer to Common Quaker.

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Female

Rannoch Brindled Beauty
Lycia lapponaria

April into May.

Wet upland moorland and mosses.

This is an Arctic moth, one of our Scottish specialities. Unlike its machair relative, Belted Beauty, it is confined to the central Highlands, inhabiting damp moorland and mosses.

Both sexes are at least partially diurnal. They are most easily found sitting on fence posts, often quite exposed.

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