Cerapteryx graminis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Host plants:
Poaceae and Cyperaceae(especially in the root neck area).

Habitat:
Cerapteryx graminis inhabits mountainous forest meadows, nutrient-poor grasslands, fens, alpine meadows of all kinds and similar habitats.

Life cycle:
The egg hibernates. The caterpillar lives from late March to June, rarely later. The moths visit often thistles and other blooms in the bright sunshine. The flight season is from mid-July to September.

Endangerment: regionally endangered or decreasing

Endangerment factors:
In the lowlands Cerapteryx graminis is endangered locally by the decline in extensive pastures etc. But it is still very widespread in the Alps and other higher mountains up to 2500m above sea level (Valais).

Remarks:
Cerapteryx graminis is essentially mountainous and occurs from Northern Spain through Europe to Mongolia.