Tyria jacobeae (Linnaeus, 1758)

Host plants:
In the lowlands the caterpillars usually feed on Senecio jacobeae and more rarely also other Senecio species. In the Alps, Tussilago farfara and seldom also Petasites hybridus serve as host plants.

Habitat:
Tyria jacobeae colonizes alpine meadows and pastures, fens, dry grasslands, sandy inland places, coastal dunes and other extensive open land.

Life cycle:
The moths fly in one generation in May-June. The caterpillars are usually found in July and August. In the Netherlands, I watched a lot of caterpillars in coastal dunes where some defoliation at the local form of Senecio jacobeae was observed. In the Alps (Allgäu) I encountered larvae on Tussilago up to almost 2000 meters above sea level in in August.

Endangerment: regionally endangered or decreasing

Endangerment factors:
In the plains, Tyria jacobeae has declined sharply, and has already become a rarity in some regions. The cause is the over-intensive use of meadows with occurrences of the food plant or too intense grazing and the general habitat loss due to construction of industry and housing. On the other hand, Senecio is recently increasing for examples along roads in Central Europe. Maybe these substitute habitats will lead to a new spread of Tyria jacobeae.

Remarks:
Tyria jacobeae is widespread in Europe and is missing completely only in the Arctic region.