This species really ought to be much easier to identify than the other three Epirrita species. It flies in late August/early September (ie at least a month before the others), it is significantly smaller, and it favours upland areas. There are however difficulties. Large specimens occur with wing markings identical to Autumnal Moth and flight times overlap. To make it even harder, the genitalia are extremely similar, though the moth dissection web site seems to have discovered some subtle differences - see More Info which waxes lyrical about the number of hairs on the cristae. Waring says an Epirrita moth in August on northern moorland is almost certain to be this species and he is likely to be correct - we're not going to quibble much about records like these, but the situation is not quite as straightforward as we once thought it was.
Whilst this is predominantly an upland species, it does occur in some adjacent lowland areas, and we do have some records creeping into VC61. There are even some old records from Spurn from the 1970s and 80s which look a bit odd. It doesn't appear to occur in areas to our south so I don't know where these would have come from. The larvae feed on heather, bilberry and sallows. Numbers appear to have declined in recent years, and the Atlas tells us that it is in decline. As this is Britain's only endemic macro moth, we should be concerned if it is in trouble.
Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: The only fairly easily distinguishable member of the genus, at least if habitat and flight periods are considered. This moth is frequently recorded from higher moorland areas and occasionally from lower sites, presumably where heather occurs. S. P. Garland in 'The Moths of Sheffield' makes the interesting point that the flight period of this moth coincides with the grouse-shooting season when many moors may have very limited access, so it may well be under-recorded.
Retained Specimen / Photograph will be Required.
Recorded in 81 (41%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1880. Last Recorded in 2024. Additional Stats
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