Although Beck (1999. Die larven der Europaischen Noctuidae. Revision der Systematik der Noctuidae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Herbipoliana 5: 1. Text; 2. Zeichnungen), described the larva of the nominotypical form, as far as we are aware the larva of the Irish subspecies occidentalis of Calamia tridens, Burren Green, has hitherto not been found in the wild. In June 2012 we visited The Burren, County Clare, Ireland. One of our objectives was to search for larvae of this species. Skinner (2009, Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 3rd edition: 166) states that the larva will eat the grasses Poa annua and Dactylis glomerata in captivity and that the natural foodplant is believed to be Sesleria caerulea. Our efforts concentrated on searching the S.caerulea in the grikes on the limestone pavement (Plates 1 and 2).
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