Yorkshire Status: Uncommon and local resident.

In 1907 Porritt described Hedge Rustic as "not uncommon" and listed several sites all across Yorkshire. I doubt it was ever a common moth in the county, but healthy numbers of records persisted well into the 1980s. After that however it went into a steep decline, disappearing from Spurn where previously it had been present in good numbers, and reached a low point from 2012 to 2015 when there was a total of three records in four years. Since then however, things have gradually improved and over the last ten years it has been seen more widely across the county. It is not at 1970 levels yet, but the picture is looking more rosy, and it even appeared again at Spurn in 2022 after a gap of 32 years. At some sites it is doing particularly well, especially at Austerfield where the maximum count is 26 on 38/8/2022. Nationally the Atlas tells us that it has been in long-term decline with a very severe reduction in abundance since 1970. Perhaps Yorkshire is bucking the trend. Time will tell. This tends to be a moth of rough grassy places, and it often seen in semi-upland areas. It is not a common species to find in one's garden. It is not a moth of hedges, despite its name!

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: Generally thinly scattered on sandy areas and near moorland fringes and rarely taken in more than ones or twos. An exception to this was at Spurn (VC61) where until the mid 1980s it was quite 'numerous' with up to 256 recorded in one year (BRS). It has since declined drastically, however, with single records in 1985 and 1986 and none since. The reason for this sudden decline is unknown. Taken in all five vice-counties but only in the very south of VC65.

Recorded in 63 (32%) of 200 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1860.
Last Recorded in 2023.
Additional Stats