Host plants:
The caterpillar lives polyphagous on herbs, such as Asteraceae and especially Apiaceae. I found the caterpillars in Samos on Daucus carota and Pastinaca. In Sardinia, I observed it in May 2012 only on Ferula communis.
Habitat:
Zamacra flabellaria inhabits dry warm habitats such as meadows, embankments and extensive edges or steppe-like slopes. I found caterpillars in forb edges in sunny to partially shaded sites in olive groves.
Life cycle:
The caterpillar lives in the spring from April to June. In Samos, I found already in early May 2009 mature larvae during the day at the plant. The largely developed moth overwinters in the pupal case in a tight earth cocoon. The moths fly from February to April.
Remarks:
Zamacra flabellaria is distributed in the southern half of Italy (including Sardinia) and the southern Balkans (Greece, with some islands). It is also found in Asia Minor and from southern Russia far to the east in the Asian steppe belt.