Yorkshire Status: Rare and local migrant/wanderer.

This large and spectacular migrant species seems to turn up most years in the county, and like many migrants is a little commoner in coastal areas. We have seven records of larvae, usually on potato but one record recently was near a large patch of bittersweet. It is unlikely that pupae can survive our winters. This species is commonly advertised by livestock breeders and is a popular moth to breed, so we cannot guarantee that all these records are of genuine migrants. Several found inside glass houses in Sheffield Botanic Gardens in 2008 were almost certainly not migrants. Moths are occasionally found inside bee hives which they enter searching for honey. Its native range is large, extending north to the Mediterranean as far as southern Spain, southern Italy and Turkey.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: An occasional immigrant, recorded from all five vice-counties (map 2 MBGBI 9).

Recorded in 58 (29%) of 200 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1865.
Last Recorded in 2023.
Additional Stats