Red List: Least Concern (LC). GB Status: Common.

Identification

Usually distinctive.

Recording Method

Attracted to light. Flies at dusk.

Life cycle

One generation. Overwinters as a larva. Larvae August to May. Pupates in leaf litter.

Larval foodplants

Larval foodplants poorly known in the wild.

Habitat

Broadleaved woodland, conifer plantations, hedgerows and gardens.

History

Lennon (1863) makes no mention of it for Dumfriesshire. Gordon (1919) had stated it as abundant at Corsemalzie (VC74), along woodsides at dusk. Earliest date was 3rd July 1898.

Archibald Russell (1944) listed it as occurring near Gatehouse of Fleet (VC73) during the years 1942-43. Sir Arthur Duncan (1909-84) during his lifetime had found it at Closeburn and Castlehill, Dumfries (VC72) and Kirkconnell Flow, Kirkcudbrightshire.

From 1992 to 2010 the regular trapped sites at Kirkton, Cally Woods, Mersehead RSPB, Carsfad at Dalry, Kirkcudbright, Durisdeer and Old Torr/Auchencairn area provided a lot of records, with the rest from widely scattered sites across the region.