About
The argent & sable is a day-flying moth with distinctive black-and-white wings. It is found on moorland, bogs and in open woodland, particularly with coppiced birch trees. It was once found throughout the UK, but the species has become much less common in recent decades.Adult moths take flight on warm and sunny days from May to July. Males dash around in search of females, following the pheromones they release. Females lay eggs on the leaves of young birch trees, or sometimes on bog-myrtle or occasionally sallows. The caterpillars spin the leaves together and live within them, feeding throughout summer. In the autumn, they pupate in leaf litter on the ground. They spend the winter as a pupa, emerging as an adult the following spring.