Yorkshire Status: Very rare and very local.

Great Prominent must have been more widespread in the county at some time in the past but by Porritt's time in 1883 he considered it "rare". He was aware of moths from Bishops Wood, "York" and Doncaster. Rutherford's lists from 1970 mention a further record, a larva at Buttercrambe Wood on 18/7/1942 so it was evidently still hanging on in small numbers. Populations of this species are rather scattered and isolated away from its regular haunts in the south. It occurs in the Morecambe Bay area and it still occurs in central Lincolnshire. We earmarked it several years ago as a possible recoloniser and were proved correct when one was trapped in the west of VC64 at High Bentham on 16/5/2023. This may have been a wandering moth from the Morecambe Bay population, but it is not impossible that it is now breeding in Yorkshire. It should be looked for in mature oak woodland. It would be nice to think that it still occurs near to where it was found in 1942.


Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: This species has not been recorded in Yorkshire since Julyy 1942, when a larva was found in Buttercrambe Woods (VC62) (YNU, 1970). It is still occasionally taken in Lincolnshire (VC54) (Duddington & Johnson, 1983), and the Sherwood Forest area of Nottinghamshire, VC56 (Bee, 1988).

Recorded in 5 (3%) of 200 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1883.
Last Recorded in 2023.
Additional Stats