Zygaena lavandulae (Esper, 1783)

Host plants:
The larva primarily feeds on Dorycnium pentaphyllum.

Habitat:
Zygaena lavandulae inhabits light, dry woods, grove rich grasslands, roadsides through forests, rocky places and similar places.

Life cycle:
The adults appear in a single generation from April to June, in the south of France mostly in May. The caterpillar seems to develop until April without real dormancy, similar to Zygaena rhadamanthus.

Endangerment factors:
Zygaena lavandulae is potentially endangered through intensive use of habitats (expansion of agriculture into formerly fallow land).

Remarks:
The moths show a strong, often darting flight that departs from the often simultaneously encountered Zygaena rhadamanthus significantly.

Zygaena lavandulae is distributed from Northwest Africa across eastern Spain and Southern France to Liguria.