Yorkshire Status: Uncommon and thinly distributed or restricted resident.

Dark Spectacle is less common than Spectacle by a factor of about ten to one. It is commonest in the western half of the county and in some coastal districts, and in recent years may have slightly increased its range. It tends to be seen in smaller numbers than Spectacle, and 95% of our records are of one or two moths. Larger counts are usually from the west of VC64. Do take care separating these two species. If you are not sure, it is usually Spectacle. The larval foodplants are nettle and hop - Porritt in 1907 just mentions the latter - "a common species, especially among hop growing in gardens".

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: A very local species in Yorkshire but has been discovered from several new sites since the early 1970s. There has been some confusion over names in the genus, since this species was previously called A. triplasia, the name now given to the Spectacle.

Recorded in 113 (57%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1883. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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