[5][6] The larvae feed on plants from the family Fabaceae until they enter their pupal stage and mature into adults in May to early June.

[7] Although regionally endangered as their population is declining, Z. loti is found all across Europe, inhabiting areas rich in their desired food plants: lime-rich, and characterized by a hot and dry climate.

[4][1] The decreases in their population are likely due to factors such as habitat loss and fragmentation brought on by commercial agriculture and urbanization, as well as global climate change.

[1][2][3] This moth in particular displays a sexual dimorphism, in which the wings of females are scaled much lighter than their male conspecifics and they possess a double white ruff.

[3] There they also construct or spin their cocoons (oval-shaped, dull dirty whitish color) to enter their pupal stage.

[2][13] For larvae, there are some contrasting findings, but all observed food plants that Z. loti caterpillars have been found on are from the family Fabaceae, such as Hippocrepis comosa, Lotus corniculatus, Securigera varia, and Onobrychis vicilfolia.

[3] While there is not much evidence pertaining to Zygaena loti's reproductive strategies in particular, there have been studies involving that species and other Zygaenidae that have looked at the mating routine of the family as a whole.

[4] In the close range phase of courtship, while the role of pheromones is not well known, it has been determined that visual cues from both the male and the female are important.

Some documentation cites Zygaena loti to be mainly in western Scotland and solely confined to the Isles Mull and Ulva.

[4] More specifically, Zygaena loti is found in most of Europe, except Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Fennoscandia, Denmark, Estonia and Latvia.

[5] They used to be widely distributed, creating a network of interconnected communities, but due to habitat loss as a likely result of an increase use of land for agriculture, most Z. loti and Zygaenidae populations have become fragmented and isolated from each other.

[3] Although fairly widespread, Z. loti can only survive in a restricted range of habitats, making them a good indicator for environmental change, a factor that many conservationists have focused on.

[2][5][1] Such suitable habitats may include flowering meadows, clearings, subalpine or rocky slopes, scrubland, forest edges, limestone background, or dry grassland, usually at an elevation up to 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) above sea level.

[17] The majority of the research literature on Zygaena loti is based on conservation efforts that may be useful in helping the isolated moth species.

[12][8] A smaller study focused more on the idea of restoring suitable habitats by reducing agricultural use of mineral fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides, which was hypothesized to be one of the factors causing the decline of Z. loti and a decrease in food plant availability.

[8] That same study also recommended that work needed to be done to maintain current suitable habitats by preventing the overgrowth of those xerothermic clearings and grasslands.

[20] There are relatively few current, ongoing conservation programs geared towards saving Zygaena loti from extinction, but there are two worth mentioning.