Yorkshire Status: Local resident.

Porritt only mentioned one record - from "York" in 1842 attributed to Robert Cook. Mr Cook's collecting was done at various sites within five or six miles of the city and the entry in The Entomologist in 1842 unfortunately gives just the name of the moth and no more details so we don't know where it was found. This was well to the north of all other records at the time. It evidently then retreated south. A major population expansion in the 1990s through the Midlands led to the moth colonising Yorkshire. Initial records in 2004 from Sand Hutton, Spurn and Rudston were followed by many more records in the centre of the county and in VC61, followed by expansion over much of Yorkshire. Larvae of all the true (Lithosiinae) Footmen feed on lichens and the vast majority have done well and expanded their range recently. Orange Footman is yet another example. Records have increased further in recent years and it is evidently doing well in Yorkshire. It is very much a woodland moth, particularly old oak woodland, but sometimes wanders to gardens. Counts in good quality broad-leaved woodland can often reach double figures. It is the first Footman to appear, the peak being in the third week of May. Records in July are often misidentifications for the orange form of Dingy or Buff Footman.

Recorded in 76 (38%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1842. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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