The Mallow

This moth has always been geographically restricted in Somerset, and may be in decline.  It is, and always has been, absent from areas where its foodplant Mallow Malva sylvestris is scarce - inland Exmoor and a large chunk of central Somerset centred on the Mendips. The current stronghold is around Taunton where it is still reasonably frequently recorded.  Formerly seen regularly west of the Quantocks, especially coastally, it has not been recorded in this area since 1989, and there are very few records from the well-recorded far south of the county since around 2010.