B&F: 1651

ABH: 65.007

Status:  Resident. 

Distribution and Abundance:  Common. 

Primary Habitat:  Scrub.

Flight Period:  Double brooded in May and June and again in July and August.  

Observations: Overall in my experience second brood moths are usually more plentiful than moths of the first brood. Historically although Eustace Wallis found the moth to be common around the turn of the twentieth century it did not appear in the Kettering lists until 1932. This is very surprising having regard to the diligence of the old recorders and presumably due to its effective camouflage. Certainly when at rest outside moth traps and imitating a bird dropping this moth is noticeably left by feeding birds on their early morning visits. The moth was particularly numerous at light on 4 June 1988 amongst the old hawthorns at Collyweston Quarry.

L.O.N.:  1907. Almost everywhere. Common. 

First Record:  1882, Hull & Tomalin.