B&F: 2056

ABH: 72.025

Status: Former resident.

Distribution and Abundance: Very local.

Primary Habitat: Heathland.

Flight Period: Single brooded in May and June.

Localities and Last Record: Barnwell Wold to 1945, Wakerley Wood to 1945 and Castor Hanglands 1940 - 1960. Last record 3 May 1946 Near Oakley Station (G. Becks).

Observations: No exact dates are available for the Castor Hanglands records but as much of the heathland was cleared when the area was used as a bombing range in the Second World War the records probably date from the early 1940’s. Certainly R. E. M. Pilcher regarded the species as rare in his paper on, “The Lepidoptera of Castor Hanglands and Ailsworth Heath 1911 - 1960.” It is apparent that the 1887 locality of near Castor given by Wallis was at Helpston Heath in an old quarry where the moth used to be disturbed from long grass. Messrs Hull and Tomalin quoted Harlestone and Billing Magna as early localities in the Northampton area.

L.O.N.: 1887. Near Castor. Very local but plentiful.

First Record: 1843, Whitwell.