Operophtera fagata (Scharfenberg, 1805)

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives polyphagous on deciduous woods like Fagus (main host plant), Prunus, Crataegus, Quercus and Betula. I tapped caterpillars on the eastern Swabian Alb from blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).

Habitat:
Operophtera fagata inhabits beech forests and also many other woody habitats to the human residential areas, where they are more rarely than O. brumata.

Life cycle:
The moths fly in the autumn from mid-October to early December. The eggs overwinter and the caterpillars live from April to June.

Remarks:
Operophtera fagata occurs in the beech zone of Europe and is also found in Scandinavia and Asia Minor.