Cucullia lactucae (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)

Host plants:
The larvae feed on Asteraceae, especially Prenanthis purpurea, more rarely also on Mycelis muralis, Lactuca and Sonchus species.

Habitat:
The larval habitat mostlky form forest edges, herb communities in the woodlands or clearcuts. Usually Cucullia lactucae occurs in mountainous, semi-shaded locations. But I observed a larva also on a hot woodland edge to a limestone quarry (eastern Swabian Alb).

Life cycle:
The pupa hibernates. The moths fly from May through August with a focus from mid-June to mid-July. Most caterpillars are found in July and August. They sit open on the plants.

Endangerment: regionally endangered or decreasing

Endangerment factors:
Cucullia lactucae is in decline due to dark forest management with afforestation of all remaining open areas and increasingly rapid overgrowth with nitrophyts (eutrophication of nitrogen and carbon dioxide).

Remarks:
The distribution extends from the Pyrenees through the temperate zone of Europe and Asia to Mongolia.