Eupithecia veratraria Herrich-Schäffer, [1848]

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives on monophagous White Hellebore (Veratrum album, flowers and seeds).

Habitat:
Eupithecia veratraria inhabits in the Alps preferably slightly moist and often more acidophilous pastures, but can also be observed at all other locations of Veratrum album. It lives in the northern foreland of the Alps also in fens and clear wetland forests.

Life cycle:
The moths fly from June to August. The caterpillars are observed from late July to September. They usually live in large numbers in the flowers or on the seeds of the food plant, which they spin with their threads. The pupa overwinters.

Endangerment factors:
In the Alps, Eupithecia veratraria is probably not at risk. In the few locations in the moors and other isolated localities it is on the other hand highly vulnerable to reduction of habitat quality (overgrowth, improper maintenance, etc.).

Remarks:
The distribution ranges from Spain very locally across northern parts of southern and across Central Europe to Central Asia, where mostly the mountains are inhabited. In Central Europe it is most common in the Alps, and here again in the northern Alps.