B&F: 1642

ABH: 66.012

Status:  Resident. 

Distribution and Abundance: Rare

Primary Habitat: Scrub.

Flight Period:  Single brooded in July and August.

Localities: 26 June 2026 Old Stratford (A. Harding); 8 July 1996 Yardley Chase (G. Higgs), 27 July 1994 Geddington Chase (J. Ward), 25 July 1993 Fineshade (R.I.S.) and 30 June 1992 Belham Wood (P. Waring).

Observations:  The species appears to show a preference for damper areas. The caterpillars were quite common after dark on 13 April 1990 feeding on small blackthorn bushes alongside the River Ise at Newton. Records for the moth have declined dramatically however over the past three decades with the last sightings occurring in 1996. Amazingly, after a thirty year absence, a single moth was then recorded in a garsen light trap in Old Stratford (SP74) on 26th June 2026 - during aperiod of relentless, significant heat and associated migrant activity (pictured over/below). Night searches for the caterpillar on small blackthorn bushes may well be a successful way of establishing its true status within the county. In my experience where tenanted they become pretty well depleted of foliage making them easy to identified during the daytime in readiness for any necessary night time follow-up visit.

L.O.N.: 1907. Kettering, Elton, Castle Ashby, Deene, Ashton. Very irregular, but quite a number found in 1907. Comes to light.

First Record: 1845, Whitwell