Yorkshire Status: Thinly distributed or restricted resident.

This smaller cousin of Elephant Hawk-moth has a patchier distribution in Yorkshire but is sometimes the commoner of the two in upland areas, the larvae feeding on bedstraws. It is doing very well in the county and we have had an increased number of records in the last few years. Counts into double figures are occasionally seen, for example 18 at Marne Barracks on 6/6/2008, and it is doing particularly well in the western half of the county. The situation has certainly changed since the comments below from Sutton and Beaumont. There are now over 100 records from VC65! This situation is mirrored nationally and it is doing well in counties to our north and moving into new areas.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: This species seems to have a very uneven distribution in the County. Although quite common in some areas of VC63, it disappeared from one suburb of Rotherham in the 1940s, at about the same time as the previous species was first noticed in the area (Barringer & Ely, 1979). It has also declined in the Sheffield area (Garland, 1979) but increased around Huddersfield (LL-E; JRB). Currently it is more common than formerly in the Leeds and Harrogate areas, but has never been seen at Colton, not far to the west of York (JP). Elsewhere the situation seems more stable, with a small resident population along the south of the North York Moors and in east VC61 (PQW). It seems rare in north VC62 and there is no VC65 record.

Recorded in 134 (67%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1859. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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