ABH: 35.118

Status:  Unknown

Distribution/Abundance:  Rare - expanding range/possible resident

Primary Habitat:  Usually coastal and saltmarsh

Wingspan:  13-14mm

Flight Period:  Bivoltine: May - July, August - October

Observations:  Larvae feed on Beet and Sea Beet. A moth that is traditionally seen only on shingle coasts and saltmarshes, but which appears to be rapidly expanding its range, possibly due to a change to utilising Sugar Beet as a larval foodplant.

Confusion Species:  The following is per Steve Palmer (Gelechiid Recording Scheme, 12/09/2022): Those with the beige dorsum AND with black spots mid-forewing, surrounded by the same beige colour, are very distinctive and unlike any other British Scrobipalpa - and therefore safe to record as ocellatella. However, worn specimens or a darker form of the moth are suggested as needing retention and dissection. S. atriplicella for example can look very like the dark form of ocellatella; one form of S. suaedella can have the pale dorsum, but the spots are usually more elongate and not surrounded by a circle of paler colour; S. instabilella can occasionally have the black spots surrounded by paler colour but it is paler all over, lacking the contrast in the bulk of ocellatella.

L.O.N.:  N/A

First Record:  2022, Hammond (1st confirmed record)