Dryobotodes tenebrosa (Esper, 1789)

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives on Quercus species. In Sardinia, I found them on Quercus ilex and in Northern Greece (Olympus) on Quercus coccifera.

Habitat:
Dryobotodes tenebrosa inhabits dry oak forests in the Mediterranean and supra-Mediterranean zone. Perhaps also other species of oak are used.

Life cycle:
The egg overwinters. The caterpillar lives from April to June. I found them in May in an holm oak forest at 1000m above sea level in Sardinia (Montiferru) and at 400m above sea level on Mount Olympus (Greece). The young caterpillars and some of the fully-grown larvae are greenish. The greater part of the larvae, however, seems to be of a brown colour in the final instar (bark camouflage). The moths fly in the autumn from mid-September to early December.

Remarks:
Dryobotodes tenebrosa occurs from north Africa across Southern Europe (the entire Mediterranean area) to Asia Minor.