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Red-line Quaker Agrochola lota

The front wing is 15 to 18 mm in length, meaning this species is reaching a wingspan of up to 40 mm. It usually has a distinct red line across the wing, but in worn out animals, such as the one in the picture, the red may be fading away. What remains is the vivid black dot in the wing, which usually is less intens in the similar Yellow-line Quaker.

The Red-line Quaker is on the wing from September to November in one single brood. The females deposit their eggs one by one on branches of the foodplants, which are sallow and willow. After overwintering the eggs hatch in spring. The young larvae eat the catkins, when growing older they eat the leaves of the host plant. They only feed at night and seek shelter in leaves, which they spin together, during the day. In June the caterpillars are full grown, drop to the ground where they pupate in a small hole. After some 6 to 8 weeks the adult moths appear.

The Red-line Quaker is a common species all over England, Wales and Ireland wherever the host plants are present. It is a local species in Scotland. Common all over Europe, but becoming a local species in Northern parts.