Lithophane hepatica (Clerck, 1759)

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives on various deciduous woods, especially Prunus and Salix.

Habitat:
Lithophane hepatica colonizes forests that are rich in deciduous trees, thickets and hedges. I tapped larvae in a riparian forest rest in the Iller Valley (Southern Germany) from sallow.

Life cycle:
The butterflies hibernate and fly from late August to late May or even early June. The caterpillars are found from May to July.

Remarks:
The distribution extends across most of Europe and temperate Asia to Japan.