Herminia tarsicrinalis (Knoch, 1782)

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives polyphagous on dead or dying leaves, secondarily also on herbs and shrubs. The larvae live in the litter or on broken branches and bushes or trees with a high amount of dead leaves.

Habitat:
Herminia tarsicrinalis is mostly found in undergrowth-rich, open woods. More rarely also shrubbery rich grasslands, swamps, settlements or other woody habitats are colonized.

Life cycle:
The caterpillar overwinters in last instar and eats again some time in the spring. I found the caterpillar in late September on blackberry and dead leaves of broken branches. The moths often fly in a single generation from late May to early August. In low, warm areas moths are already found in May. Here is a partial second generation added in August and early September.

Remarks:
The in Central Europe quite common species occurs from Northern Spain to Korea. They lack in Scandinavia and much of the southern Mediterranean.