Xanthorhoe biriviata (Borkhausen, 1794)
Balsam Carpet
70.0500 (B&F: 1721)
»Suborder: Glossata
»Superfamily: Geometroidea
»Family: Geometridae
»Subfamily: Larentiinae
»Tribe: Xanthorhoini
A suspected immigrant and resident that occurs singly in a wide range of habitats. Widespread in the north, less so in the south. Increasing. Double-brooded, flying mainly from the second week of May to the end of the month and again from early July to early August. Larvae have never been discovered in Sussex, although adults have been tentativeky associated with Indian Balsam. In other counties caterpillars feed on the water-loving but alien Orange Balsam, a plant not significantly introduced to Sussex much before the Second World War. Larvae have also been found on Small Balsam in adjacent Surrey. (Pratt, 2011)
