Yorkshire Status: Rare and very local resident.

This species was added to the British List in 1842. The capture is recounted in The Zoologist 1846 p1006 as follows - "This insect was first taken here in 1842, in which year I captured two specimens upon sallow blossoms, and another was taken by Mr Cook; we also met with it the two following years but not in any plenty. We have not seen it this year, although it generally appears from about the 8th to the end of April - Thomas H Allis, York, April 17 1845." The Entomologist's Annual 1855 p32 says "it has since been taken very freely at Doncaster ... the insect is now common in all collections".

By 1904, Porritt was aware of records from several sites across the county. Since then however it seems to have been lost from many of its old haunts across much of northern and central England, and most records are from southern counties. In Yorkshire it is a moth of heathland, with most records coming from Strensall Common and what are presumably wandering moths being recorded at Haxby. There are old records from Skipwith and Allerthorpe Commons and it is likely that it persists in these locations. It regularly turns up at Spurn where there may be a small resident population. It sometimes turns up in other locations but some of these records are old and we cannot guarantee they are not misidentifications. If it is recorded from anywhere other than Strensall, Haxby or Spurn, we really do need to see a photograph as it can closely resemble some of the other Orthosia species.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: Very local in Yorkshire although recorded from a few more sites than in previous years. Lorimer (MBGBI 9) suggests that this species is more widespread than O. populeti (Fabricius).

	Retained Specimen / Photograph will be Required.

Recorded in 24 (12%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1842. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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