Davey, P., 2009: A species found in England and Wales becoming less frequent as one heads north, the larva feeding on a variety of deciduous shrubs and plants. The larvae, which are highly distasteful to birds, behave in the same gregarious way as the Small Eggar, spinning a web on the host shrub to house the colony. The blue markings on the caterpillar are not pigment but Tyndall Blue, a colour derived from the interaction of light and micro-structures on the insect. When almost full-grown, the larvae disperse.

In Dorset, the moth is abundant in coastal districts, especially where blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) thickets abound. Inland, the moth ranges from common on chalky soils to rare on sandy soils.

Recorded in 42 (105%) of 40 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1895.
Last Recorded in 2019.
(Data up to end 2019)