Euxoa recussa (Hübner, 1817)

Host plants:
The larva is polyphagous on plant parts near the ground. I observed larvae under Hippocrepis comosa on the eastern Swabian Alb.

Habitat:
Euxoa recussa inhabits gappy, stony or rocky nutrient-poor grasslands such as rocky slopes, old quarries or rocky pastures.

Life cycle:
The caterpillar overwinters and is mature in June or early July. The moths fly from July to mid-September, especially in August. They also visit flowers like thistles in the sunshine.

Endangerment: endangered

Endangerment factors:
Outside the Alps, Euxoa recussa is endangered due to the decline of suitable habitat: shrub encroachment/reforestation, felting after abandonment of grazing and eutrophication, in certain cases even still overbuilding.

Remarks:
Euxoa recussa is found in Scandinavia. Further south it is confined to the mountains (Alps, Jurassic mountains, Pyrenees and other).