The primary larval food plants are bents (various Agrostis species), fescues (various Festuca species) and meadow-grasses (various Poa species).
Adults feed primarily on bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.), carline thistle (Carlina vulgaris), devil's-bit scabious (Succisa pratensis), fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica), hemp agrimony(Eupatorium cannabinum), wild privet (Ligustrum vulgare), ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris), red clover (Trifolium patense), thistles (Cirsium and Carduus species), thyme (Thymus praecox) and water mint (Mentha aquatica) [REF].