Species Account
Distribution
Summary Data
Season (Adult / Immature):
|
National Status: Migrant Local Status: Fairly common and widely distributed resident, and migrant. Local Record: Grade 3 See here for explanation Flight time: May-Nov, (mostly Jul-Sep) Forewing: 14-17mm. Foodplant: Grasses. |
Record breakdown:
VC9 | VC11 | Region | |
---|---|---|---|
Year first recorded | 1905 | 1993 | 1905 |
Year last recorded | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 |
Number of records | 3156 | 208 | 6728 |
Number of individuals | 15173 | 295 | 30936 |
Unique positions | 213 | 10 | 446 |
Unique locations | 166 | 10 | 352 |
Adult records | 2858 | 201 | 6118 |
Immature records | 0 | 0 | 0 |
For the region, we have a total of 6728 records from 352 sites. Earliest record on file is in 1905.
Photos
Species Account
Similar species: 2193 Clay.
For further information refer UK Moths.
Davey, P., 2009: An immigrant species observed in the southern and eastern counties of England, the larva feeding on various soft-bladed grass species such as cock's-foot (Dactylus glomerata). In Dorset, historically, old records suggest a species that was able to produce a resident second brood An immigrant species observed in the southern and eastern counties of England, the larva feeding on various soft-bladed grass species such as cock's-foot (Dactylus glomerata). In Dorset, historically, old records suggest a species that was able to produce a resident second brood following occasional early summer immigrations from western France and Iberia. However, more recently, the moth has been recorded annually since 1989 following a period of absence. By 2003, there was evidence of residency. The graphic for West Bexington depicts nightly trap totals during that season. Although immigration from abroad contributed to these totals on occasions, the continuous nature of the records over time plus the high daily totals indicate a strong resident population in this unimproved grassland coastal locality. The combination of the warm winters of 2001/2002 and 2002/2003, the hot summers of 2003 and 2006, in fact the warming trend as a whole, has likely spurred population expansion across the county to the point where the species appears now to be resident in unimproved grassland habitats along the coastal belt and inland, particularly on chalky soils.
See background to species accounts. Index of Vernacular names - Search - Random Species