Yorkshire Status: Fairly common resident.

The numbers of records received might imply that this is an uncommon moth in the county, but the lack of numbers is due to its flight time. The traps of many moth trappers in January and February are gathering dust in the garage. It has probably always been fairly common and widespread. Porritt in 1907 said "probably in all parts of the county, often in abundance." Larvae feed on blackthorn and hawthorn so it is commonest in open woodland and scrub. In good habitat, numbers can be large. Most of the really big counts have come from Bellflask near Ripon for example 82 on 14/1/2011. Since the turn of the century, we have had more reports of moths in December, the earliest so far being on 2/12/2009. Numbers seem to be stable across the county.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: There are thinly scattered records from all five vice-counties but the lack of records is probably due to the flight period of this moth being in January and February when few traps are run regularly. However, the larvae may often be found on hawthorn and blackthorn hedges in April and May.

Recorded in 101 (51%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1883. Last Recorded in 2024. Additional Stats

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