Yorkshire Status: Fairly common and fairly widespread resident.

In 1907 Porritt described Purple Clay as "abundant no doubt everywhere". This is not quite the case nowadays as it is less common in some lowland areas. Like the previous species, it is commonest in upland wooded districts, and seems to be not doing quite so well in the south-east of England where it has disappeared from some sites. Numbers in Yorkshire seem to be stable. Fresh moths are an attractive purplish-brown colour, not seen in other Diarsia species.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: Skinner (1984) suggests this species should be 'widespread and common' inhabiting deciduous woodland. Our records suggest it is widespread but found at a low density, only being reasonably common in higher wooded sites.

Recorded in 150 (75%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1845. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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