This species is still common and widespread throughout Cambridgeshire and is one of few species that can survive the UK’s cold winters as an adult, hunkered down in a sheltered location. Its caterpillars feed on nettles, which can thrive and outcompete other plants in nutrient rich locations. Therefore, the eutrophication of riverbanks caused by fertiliser runoff may have helped this species survive, even as other suitable habitats have been lost.