Species Account
Distribution
Summary Data
Season (Adult / Immature):
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National Status: Local Local Status: Uncommon and local resident. Local Record: Grade 3 See here for explanation Flight time: One generation, Jul-Aug Forewing: M 16-20mm. F 18-19mm. Foodplant: Bramble, Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Dog-rose, sallows. |
Record breakdown:
VC9 | VC11 | Region | |
---|---|---|---|
Year first recorded | 1905 | 1983 | 1905 |
Year last recorded | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 |
Number of records | 861 | 122 | 1966 |
Number of individuals | 3824 | 229 | 8106 |
Unique positions | 185 | 25 | 420 |
Unique locations | 155 | 22 | 354 |
Adult records | 772 | 118 | 1780 |
Immature records | 12 | 2 | 28 |
For the region, we have a total of 1966 records from 354 sites. Earliest record on file is in 1905.
Photos
Species Account
For further information refer UK Moths.
Davey, P., 2009: A mainly coastal species in southern and eastern England, the larva feeding on blackthorn (Prunus spp.), hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), bramble (Rubus fruticosus) and various other deciduous trees and shrubs. The species is notorious for its ability to accumulate plague-sized populations of larvae that destroy large quantities of foliage and to cause rashes on skin when handled. In extreme situations, local councils are obliged to implement pest control measures. The moth is a serious pest in orchards in North America following accidental introduction there. In Dorset, the moth is headquartered along the coast, especially where blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) thickets abound and significant defoliation in the immediate vicinity of the web sometimes creates a scrub canopy devoid of any leaves, for example almost annually to the west of Anvil Point at Durlston. Observations from inland localities suggest either occasional dispersal from the coast or transient colonisation, for example: in excess of one hundred nests along a two-hundred metre stretch of blackthorn and hawthorn hedgerow along the A31 main road at Bloxworth Down in late spring in each year between 2005 and 2008. The species rarely reaches pest status in the county.
See background to species accounts. Index of Vernacular names - Search - Random Species