Yorkshire Status:

The information below is from our 2016 annual report. There do not appear to have been any records in the country since then.

One species which you will not find in the systematic list is Cornutiplusia circumflexa – the Essex Y, but arguably we might have included it. A specimen of this species was purchased in January 2016 by Peter Smith from Derby who had obtained it from Mark Lightowler. It had been trapped on 11.10.1990 at Hopton Woods, Mirfield in VC63 by the late David Crozier and was one of a series of three. Originally identified as Silver Y, the moths were given to Mark who noted that the series of “Silver Y” contained three rather unusual examples, all of which turned out to be the very similar Essex Y. The only previous British records of this species have been from Essex in about 1802 (hence the name) and Hampshire in 1979, both thought to be migrants. Compared to Silver Y, Essex Y has slightly longer and narrower forewings, the crosslines are straighter and more conspicuous, and probably most noticeably the gamma mark is thicker and outlined in silver rather than appearing solid as in Silver Y. It would be easy to overlook this species if one was not aware of the differences. Essex Y is found throughout Africa, the Middle East and South Asia and is common in the Canaries. It is an uncommon migrant to western Europe. Migrant activity in October 1990 was low so the presence of three moths at the same time is rather a coincidence especially as there were no others reported in the country. The provenance of the moths must remain suspect so the species will be added to the Yorkshire list in Appendix A as an introduced or adventive species. The full story of this fascinating moth is told by Peter in Entomologist’s Record 128: 213-5.

	Retained Specimen / Photograph will be Required.

Recorded in 1 (1%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1990. Last Recorded in 1990. Additional Stats

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