A portrait of this uncommon British moth will be found on Plate [35], Fig. 4. The greyish fore wings are crossed by three paler edged reddish-brown lines, the outer one running to the tip of the wing, and the inner one is sometimes faint or absent.
The caterpillar is said to feed in July and August on sallow and aspen, and is described by Hofmann as having only fourteen feet; green, inclining to greyish, in colour, with black spiracles, and the ring divisions yellowish. (Plate [39], Fig. 3; after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in May and June, and in its few known localities in England it is found in moist woods, hiding among grass and varied undergrowth.
Stephens (1834) wrote, "A very rare and local insect: I have specimens taken many years since in the neighbourhood of Bexley, in which vicinity I believe my friend Mr. Newman has captured it within these few years; it has also been found at Charlton." Since that time other localities in Kent have been mentioned, among which were Darenth Wood and West Wickham; the species was also noted from Birch wood, Surrey. A specimen was found in a gas lamp at Dulwich in 1858 by the late Mr. C. G. Barrett, and one was taken in Shooter's Hill wood, Kent, in June, 1859.
Between 1862 and 1868 specimens were obtained at Haslemere, Surrey, and near Sevenoaks, Kent. According to Barrett
it occurred at Petersfield, on the borders of Sussex and Hampshire, in 1877.
It has also been recorded from Dunham, Cheshire.
Abroad, its distribution extends to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.
The Dotted Fan-foot (Herminia cribrumalis (cribralis)).
The fore wings of this species (Plate [35], Fig. 5) are whitish tinged with brown, inclining to purplish on the outer margins; beyond the blackish central dot there are two series of blackish dots crossing the wings, but these are not always distinct.