Identification

Forewing not hooked, dull orange-yellow or orange-brown with variable and irregular banding.

Recording Method.

Attracted to light, also comes to sugar and flowers.

Life cycle

One generation. Overwinters as an egg which is laid on twigs of the foodplant. Larvae are present April to early June.

Larval foodplants

The larvae feed on the flower buds, ripening seeds and leaves of Wych Elm and sometimes on English Elm.

Habitat

Broadleaved woodland with elms.

History

The first record was when Sir Arthur Duncan (1909-84) had found it at Closeburn, Dumfriesshire. In 1973 two were trapped at Irvine House, Auchenrivock in mid-August.

Then, from 1976-82, there were 17 records from the Waterside Mains at Keir Rothamsted station, with singles from the Gatehouse of Fleet and Bridge of Dee stations during the same period. With regular trapping at Kirkton, forty records were accumulated during 1992-2000. Since then it has been trapped at Auchencairn (VC73) in October, 2006, while the first for Wigtownshire occurred at Kirkcowan, in August, 2009.