Polyploca ridens (Fabricius, 1787)

Host plants:
The caterpillars live on Quercus species (oak).

Habitat:
Polyploca ridens inhabits warm oak forests and oak-lined dry slopes or even parks.

Life cycle:
The moths fly from March to mid-May. The caterpillar is found mainly in May and June (probably still in early July) between spun leaves. The pupa or better the almost developed moth overwinters in the pupal skin.

Endangerment: regionally endangered or decreasing

Endangerment factors:
Polyploca ridens is in decline north of the Alps due to the displacement of the oak in forests in favour of fast-growing trees and increasing dark forest management.

Remarks:
Polyploca ridens occurs from Northern Spain across much of the non-polar Europe to Western Asia.