B&F: 2343

ABH: 73.169

Status: Resident. 

Distribution and Abundance: Very common.

Primary Habitat: Grassland.

Flight Period: Single brooded in July and August.

Observations: This species was only separated from its close congener the Lesser Common Rustic (M. didyma) in 1983. No reliable diagnostic features have been found and examination of the genitalia is always required for confirmation of identity. Both species are highly variable, with many forms and intermediates which occur in both moths and although M. didyma is on average slightly smaller than secalis, even the size ranges overlap. As both species are often common at light the numbers involved make genitalia determination often impractical. Having regard to this, from 2014 where the identification has not been confirmed by genitalia dissection the species should be aggregated under Common Rustic agg. To avoid even more confusion we have decided to leave the mapping and records as they are at the end of 2013.

Confusion Species: Lesser Common Rustic

L.O.N.: 1907. Everywhere. Very common.

First Record: 1888, Morley.