Yorkshire Status: Common and fairly widespread resident.

"Very abundant everywhere" wrote Porritt in 1883. This is still a common moth across the county, particularly in lowand areas, but records seem to have tailed off a little in recent years, and this seems to have been reflected nationally. Its favourite food plant is probably (not surprisingly) cabbage, so it is commonest in cultivated areas, though the larvae will feed on a variety of other plants. It is usually encountered in fairly small numbers, 93% of our records being of just one or two moths, but counts can sometimes reach double figures, the maximum being 21 at West Melton on 2/7/1999. Most other large counts are from gardens. It occurs in several overlapping broods and we have records from March to November.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: Recorded from all five vice-counties, and often frequent to common in suburban areas where the larvae feed on a variety of garden and allotment plants. There is a lack of really rural sites for the species, nearly all the records coming from near villages or habitation of some sort.

Recorded in 146 (73%) of 200 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1845.
Last Recorded in 2023.
Additional Stats