B&F: 2020

ABH: 73.033

Status: Resident.

Distribution and Abundance: Local but declining

Primary Habitat: Woodland.

Flight Period: Single brooded in October and November.

Localities: Predominantly North-east and Soke of Peterborough. Previously more widespread, including Hazelborough Wood, Hardwick Wood (larvae), Brampton Wood and Castor Hanglands.

Observations: Since the turn of the Millenium, this species has apparently shown a fairly significant decline in VC32, and now tends to be recorded only in the North-east of the county. NB: John Ward writes previously: Although in terms of its post 1980 distribution this species is clearly widespread, in more recent years it has been noticeably less plentiful. My own field records show that I have only seen the moth in two of the last ten years to 2009 whereas in the previous ten years I saw the moth in seven of the years. More recently it has always been in very small numbers and the colourful caterpillars are no longer readily seen in the hedgerows. As this also applies to caterpillars of The Lackey moth (M. neustria), it is open to speculation whether greater vehicle pollution and more indiscriminate hedge cutting are contributing to a decline in these species. Light trap records from a Wellingborough garden in the 1950’s show an annual average of three moths recorded whereas those from the Fineshade woodland trap in the 1990’s average a single moth annually. The moth has only appeared once in the Pitsford Water static light traps over the past decade.

L.O.N.: 1907. Many localities. Common. At light, etc.

First Record: 1881, Porritt.