Polia bombycina (Hufnagel, 1766)

Host plants:
The caterpillar lives polyphagous in the herb layer. In the spring it loves to feed on flowers of Pulsatilla as I observed in Valais. It may then climb even on young bushes at night.

Habitat:
Polia bombycina inhabits grasslands, rocky slopes, sandy heaths, bogs and similar only extensively managed habitats.

Life cycle:
The caterpillar overwinters. The moths fly in June and July. I found the young caterpillars in early October 2009 at approximately 1700m above sea level on the west Austrian Kanisfluh quite numerous in the nutrient-poor pastures. After the winter I observed it in April in Valais together with those of Polia serratilinea at the base of Pulsatilla flowers concealed under moss during the day.

Endangerment: regionally endangered or decreasing

Endangerment factors:
Extensive habitats are increasingly reduced, so that Polia bombycina is in decline as so many other insect species.

Remarks:
The distribution extends from the Pyrenees across large parts of Europe (missing for example in central and Southern Italy) and temperate Asia to Japan.