Last modified: March 4, 2021, 3:29 p.m.
A common species in the northern part of Belgium, not so common in the south.
Native
Pearly white, oblong-ovate.
Whitish to grey; head capsule and prothoracic plate chestnut-brown; last abdominal segment brown.
Pale yellowish brown in a tough silken cocoon.
The eggs are oviposited singly or up to three in crevices in dead bark and covered with perianal hairs.
The caterpillars construct silken tubes containing frass and feed from these tubes from June–July, hibernating till January to April. The duration of the larval stage depends much on the mildness or severity of the winter.
Pupation takes place in the larval feeding place from January till May.
The adults are active especially during morning sunshine near the breeding sites. Sometimes assembling in larger numbers when females are present. The occasionally come to light.
One generation a year: from the end of April till June.
Woodland, gardens, parks, old hedgerows where dead wood is present.