Davey, P., 2009: A rare and much decreased species that is now restricted to Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex and Shropshire, the larva feeding on sallow (Salix spp.). In Dorset, the moth is local, at low density, and strictly associated with sallow-rich wetland, specifically, damp heathland and mire on sandy soils across the Poole Basin and unimproved grassland on ill-drained clay soils in the Blackmore Vale. All sites that host colonies contain an abundance of sallow, and larvae appear to show no preference for individual Salix species.

Conservation measures should include the maintenance of well-stocked sallow habitat on Dorset SSSI wetland sites, and continued monitoring of this moth is recommended. The peak of the second brood is on average, twice as large as the first brood. The moth evidently shows a tendency to wander on occasions as it is encountered at light traps sometimes many kilometers from known sites: West Bexington, on 9 August 1998 (R Eden), Portland, on 3 August 2002 (M Cade), Puddletown, on 28 July 2003, 28 July 2004, 6 August 2004, 9 August 2004 (H Wood Homer), Shapwick, on 15 July 2003, 27 July 2004 (P Davey), Harmans Cross, on 3 June 1987 (B Withers), Gaunts Common, on 12 August 1983 (Miss M Brooks), on 30 July 1994 (P Davey).