It is found in the coastal regions of the Iberian Peninsula (from southern Portugal to the eastern Pyrenees), northern Spain and in small populations near Madrid and in northern Portugal.

It is also found in isolated populations in France (Depts.

Vendée, Deux-Sèvres, Lot, Aveyron, Lozère, Gard, Herault, Aude, Pyrenées Orientales and Var).

It is also found in North Africa, from North-eastern Morocco and northern Algeria up to Tunisia and western Libya.

The larvae feed on various herbaceous plants, including Taraxacum officinale, Lactuca sativa, Polygonum aviculare.