Species Account

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Distribution

Summary Data

Season (Adult / Immature):

National Status: Migrant

Local Status: Abundant and widespread migrant.

Local Record: Grade 1 See here for explanation

Flight time: May-Nov, peak Aug-Oct.

Forewing: 13-16mm.

Foodplant: Clover and grasses. No evidence of breeding in UK.

IMPORTANT - Please note that the maps and accounts are provisional, subject to change and further update. The whole dataset still needs to go through the final verification process and it is likely that a very small number of records will not satisfy the present requirements and there are other records that have not been formally submitted. The information is for guidance only.

Record breakdown:

	VC9	VC11	Region
Year first recorded	1932	1992	1932
Year last recorded	2010	2010	2010
Number of records	1629	654	4566
Number of individuals	97571	2459	200060
Unique positions	374	44	836
Unique locations	290	35	650
Adult records	1565	647	4424
Immature records	0	0	0

For the region, we have a total of 4566 records from 650 sites. Earliest record on file is in 1932.

Photos

Species Account

For further information refer UK Moths.

Davey, P., 2009: A regular long-range immigrant whose numbers vary greatly year to year, the larva feeding on clovers (Trifolium spp.), knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare) and various grass species. In Dorset, the moth has been recorded in every month of the year, and in favourable seasons late spring immigrations spawn large indigenous broods during the late summer and the autumn. These resident populations are often augmented by further waves of immigrants from the Continent, and in favourable seasons, numbers can become staggeringly large. Three main broods are suspected with a period of fifty-two days on average, between each peak. There is no indication that the moth can survive the winter here in the UK.

See background to species accounts. Index of Vernacular names - Search - Random Species