Yorkshire Status: Uncommon resident.

The 2020 summary tells the story of this moth. Since then, there were a couple of quiet years, but then in 2023, the expansion continued. We received 22 records. 14 of these were from two sites in Doncaster where there is now evidently a thriving population. Moths were also seen at three other sites in VC63, and crossed the border into VC64 with two records from Tadcaster and one of larvae in Leeds. Nationally, expansion has been both northwards and westwards, and it will be interesting to monitor this rapid and quite phenomenal spread over the next few years.

2020 (CHF): Toadflax Brocade was first found in the UK in 1939. Breeding was proven on the south coast in 1952. Colonisation was slow but by 2000 it was found widely in the London area and numbers seemed to build up quickly. Over the next few years, it moved quite rapidly north and a wandering individual was seen at Spurn in 2007. The Atlas, looking at data up to the end of 2016, suggested it was resident in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and south-east Wales.
In 2020 the situation progressed further. On 21st May, single moths were trapped at Doncaster and at Rothwell, south-east of Leeds, suggesting a coordinated arrival. Four days later one was found at a second site in Doncaster, and here there was a further record in June. Two more records from the same site in August must be from a second brood and suggest that there was local breeding. This rapid expansion shows no sign of slowing down and it is highly likely that we will see more records in the coming years. Adult moths are unmistakable and there aren't really any confusion species. The larvae are spectacular and easy to identify, so well worth searching for, especially in the south of the county.
A survey in 1999 found most larvae on purple toadflax, though they have been found on Common Toadflax and in fact on other Toadflax species at times. I don't have any purple toadflax in my garden at the moment. That situation will be rectified this year!

	Retained Specimen / Photograph will be Required.

Recorded in 8 (4%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 2007. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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