B&F: 2306

ABH: 73.113

Status: Resident and partial migrant.

Distribution and Abundance: Common.

Primary Habitat: General occurrence.

Flight Period: At least double brooded, mainly in May, June, September and October, but has been recorded in almost every month of the year.

Observations: Often to be seen at rest on dead flower heads, fences, walls etc., camouflaged by its cryptic coloration. The variably coloured caterpillar is often found feeding on garden plants. The flight period of moths taken in a light trap run nightly in a Wellingborough garden in the early 1950's is significantly shorter than that currently seen at light traps operating at Pitsford Reservoir. The detail is as follows:-
Wellingborough
1951, 29 May to 20 Oct. - 105
1952, 11 June to 21 Oct. -   52
1953, 13 June to 25 Oct. -   49
Pitsford
1999,  9 May to 11 Nov. - 162
2000, 28 Apr to 19 Nov. - 277
2001, 15 May to 2 Dec.  -   99.

L.O.N.: 1907. Many localities. Common.

First Record: 1863, Smith.