Phytometra viridaria (Clerck, 1759)

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives on Polygala species, particularly Polygala vulgaris and Polygala comosa.

Habitat:
Phytometra viridaria inhabits nutrient-poor sites with Polygala species such as limestone juniper grasslands, alternating wet grasslands, clearings and edges in Erica-Pinus forests and dams.

Life cycle:
The pupa hibernates and the moths fly from April or May to early September in two generations. The caterpillars live from late May to early October. I found them on the eastern Swabian Alb (parasitized) during the day clung to stems of Polygala comosa.

Endangerment: endangered

Endangerment factors:
Since nutrient-poor habitats are increasingly rare, Phytometra viridaria is now threatened.

Remarks:
Phytometra viridaria is distributed from Morocco across Europe to east Asia.