Adscita mannii (Lederer, 1853)

Host plants:
Helianthemum species, as well as Onobrychis (Fabaceae, observations of larvae in Provence: Massif de la Sainte Baume).

Habitat:
Adscita mannii colonizes calcareous grasslands and steppe-like, dry and often shrubby slopes.

Life cycle:
The moths fly very early. In the Valle di Susa (Italy), I found adults in mid-May at 500 meters above sea level. Mature larvae have been observed in the Ste. Baume in 800m above sea level in early April.

Endangerment factors:
North of the Alps Adscita mannii is only known from the Upper Rhine (e.g. Kaiserstuhl in Germany), where many habitats have been lost by the intense viticulture. Whether the remaining areas will be sufficient to maintain Adscita mannii, is to be seen in future (remark: Adscita mannii has disappeared from there in the meanwhile!).

Otherwise Adscita mannii is distributed from Northeast Spain via the south of France and Italy to the Balkans and the Black Sea. In Northern Greece I met numerous adults in the Askio mountains in May 2010.