The Mocha – a nationally scarce moth

I found a Mocha in my moth trap this morning. According to Waring, Townsend and Lexington in their Field Guide to Moths of Great Britain and Ireland it is a Nationally Scarce B moth – which means it is found in less than 100 10km squares in the UK.

The caterpillars feed on field maple and one of its strongholds is south Devon.

Here is the distribution of the species via the National Biodiversity Network