Yorkshire Status: Common and widespread resident.

This little moth is common and widespread over the county, though we have remarkably few records from VC65. Adults are commonly seen on sunny days in May in large numbers on the heads of buttercups or dandelions. We have some very large counts on the database. 3,000 at Spurn on 16/5/2007 and 2649 (exactly!) at Tophill Low NR in 2015. The larvae feed in the stems of grasses, usually cock's-foot, tall fescue and meadow fescue, their presence being signalled by small holes along the length of the stem. Small numbers sometimes turn up in light traps.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: Widespread and common to abundant moth in all five vice-counties.

Recorded in 121 (61%) of 200 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1859. Last Recorded in 2023. Additional Stats

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