Yorkshire Status: Very rare and very local resident.

Since the 2020 summary below, numbers have continued to grow. It is now well established in its core areas – the east of VC62 and the west of VC63. It remains local elsewhere. In 2023 we received 34 records of 51 moths from 22 sites. It is starting to turn up in some unusual places away from the core area, in 2023 there were records from North Ferriby and Spurn. The biggest numbers usually come from VC62 and the maximum count so far is 15 at Broxa forest on 15/6/18.

2020 (CHF): Beautiful Snout is another of the small number of species which have invaded the county from the south-west. Numbers in England started to increase in the 1980s and there was a major movement into Lancashire and south Cumbria. It first appeared in the south-west of VC63 in 2001. Occasional records were seen in the west of the county until 2010, since when it has been seen every year. The first VC64 record was in 2011 and it appeared in VC65 in 2015. In 2016 it made a big jump to VC62, and it is here that the population has built up as it has evidently found a lot of suitable habitat, especially in the east. Counts of up to ten at light are not uncommon.

The number of records fell slightly in 2020 but came from an impressive 17 sites of which eight were new, the majority being in VC62. It can now evidently be found anywhere in the west or north of the county. It is a moth of open woodland with bilberry, but records spill out onto open moorland and it has a tendency to wander and to be found in sites with no obvious suitable habitat in the vicinity. It occasionally pops up in gardens. The Field Guide says that the food plant is bilberry but European literature suggests heather (Erica and Calluna) as common food plants and it has been found on heather in Ireland. I get the impression that it flies fairly early as I have found it dusking in upland open woodland. I think I was looking for Bilberry Pug at the time, and the two species have a lot of parallels with similar habitat requirements and similar recent expansion of range.

Recorded in 46 (23%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 2001. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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