March Tubic Diurnea fagella
The March Tubicis an early spring species. It flies about from March to May. That is he does. She has stunted wings and can't fly at all. She reaches a wingspan of some 20 mm. He's much more variable reaching a wingspan of 25 to 32 mm. Also highly variable in colouring. Usually light with some black, fine lines, but sometimes very dark indeed, as can be seen in the bottom picture. Some March Tubics have about the same amount of black and white colours, are hardly marked and quite difficult to identify. The caterpillars live on various decidous trees, especially oak and birch. The March Tubic is common over much of the British Isles.
The March Tubic is also known as the March Dagger Moth. Usually considered to be a member of the Chimabachinae, a subfamily of the Oecophoridae. This subfamily is however considered by some to be a family of its own, called the Chimabachidae.
