Mung Moth - Maruca vitrata

Wingspan 28 to 34 mm. A distinctive species.

A rare species in VC55. Please provide a photograph and retain moth until identification is confirmed.

A very rare vagrant or adventive species, possibly imported from the Tropics in leguminous vegetables. 

Probably most likely to be recorded in summer or autumn, but could possibly occur at any time of year.

Abroad, it is a pest of leguminous plants, where the larvae bore into the pods.

There have only been a handful of records in Britain, mainly in southern England, but also recorded as far north as Cheshire. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as migrant.

First record for Leicestershire and Rutland came from a Carlton garden near Market Bosworth on 08/10/2021.