Melanchra pulverulenta

Like M. adjuncta, this species has a very close European relative, the Broom Moth M. pisi. The caterpillars are not obviously distinguishable, and both share the same unusual foodplant, Bracken Pteridium aquilinum. For the time being I am listing this as pulverulenta, but, as with the adjuncta/persicariae pair, I feel that the possibility must be considered that the European species occurs here, or that the two may prove to be conspecific. Presumably the Broom Moth eats Broom as well as Bracken, and we are badly in need here of something that eats Broom.