Wingspan 10-13 mm. A smallish moth with brown and white markings and darker than related species.

Rough grassland where Creeping Thistle is present.

The adults fly in May and again in July and August. Flying from dusk onwards, they are attracted to light.

The larvae feed in spinnings on the shoots of Creeping Thistle.

It is distributed mainly in the south and south-east of England, with some records from further north into Yorkshire and is generally not well recorded. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.

Fairly common in Leicestershire and Rutland. L&R Moth Group status = A (common and resident)