Yorkshire Status: Rare and very local resident.

The 2020 lockdown ramblings below make interesting reading as they have proved to be correct. Small Brindled Beauty was rediscovered at Ashberry YWT reserve on 19/2/2023. It was then found at Pretty Wood, south-east of Castle Howard on 3/3/2024. So old oak woodland in VC62 is certainly the place to find it. Most people confine their moth trapping to their garden in February in March. If they strayed a bit further afield, perhaps we would be aware of further sites for this elusive moth.

2020 (CHF): Does Small Brindled Beauty still occur in Yorkshire? In Porritt's day it was "tolerably common". He found it on "the boles of oaks etc early in March" and listed localities all over the county. Records have been thin on the ground since then and Sutton and Beaumont listed very few recent records in 1989. Since then, records have come from Bubwith in 1991, Grosmont in 1992 and 1993, Low Bentham in 1998 and near Hawnby in 2009. There are known populations in north Lancashire and in Lincolnshire. The Atlas says that it has declined substantially in both distribution and numbers since 1970 across the country. This is a moth of mature oak woodland. It tends not to wander and it not a common visitor to gardens. It therefore has to be looked for. It flies from mid-February to mid-March at a time when few moth trappers venture out of their gardens. The flightless females can be found by searching near the base of oak trunks after dawn and are reasonably distinctive, though we would need to see a good clear photograph. The males come readily to light. This species is still highly likely to occur in the county. Some of the remoter unexplored oak woods of VC62 might be worth a look. It also could easily still occur at sites like Strensall Common, Skipwith Common and Askham Bog in the centre of the county. We've just got to look for it.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: This scarce species is only sporadically found as far north as Yorkshire. There is only one confirmed recent record near Elvington (SMJ), and not recorded at Bishop Wood since the late 1960s.

Recorded in 18 (9%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1883. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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