Yorkshire Status: Thinly distributed or restricted resident.

This species is commonly confused with August Thorn. For differentiating features, see August Thorn. It is a moth of wooded areas in the centre of Yorkshire, often coming into gardens. It is rare in the extreme east and west of the county. There is however a suggestion of range expansion to the north-west with moths seen in Coverdale and Swaledale in 2023. Porritt regarded it as "not common" and the Atlas tells us that it is a "declining species with a severe decrease in abundance and a substantial reduction in distribution since 1970" The authors must never have visited Yorkshire where it appears to be thriving with a big increase in numbers in the last few years. It is not uncommon to see counts in double figures for example 30 at Dob Park on 4/8/2021.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: Quite widely distributed in woodland although it often strays to other habitats and seems to spread to upland areas slightly more than the previous species [Dusky Thorn]. Only seems frequent in the centre of the County and parts of the North York Moors.

Recorded in 101 (51%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1883. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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