Species Account

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Distribution

 
 

Summary Data

Season (Adult / Immature):

National Status: Common

Local Status: Uncommon and fairly widespread resident.

Local Record: Grade 2   See here for explanation

Flight time: One generation, Jun-Aug.

Forewing: M 23-29mm., F 30-39mm.

Foodplant: Many woody plants and deciduous trees.

Regional breakdown:

 VC61VC62VC63VC64VC65
Year first recorded19041953187619392002
Year last recorded20142012201420132013
Number of records552096878
Number of individuals3318797410
Unique positions361263431
Unique locations371263441
Adult records461985768
Immature records20110

For the county, we have a total of 266 records from 157 sites. First recorded in 1876.
 

Photos

50.002 Leopard Moth 06
© Andy Nunn
50.002 Leopard Moth 08
© Nick Lawman
50.002 Leopard Moth 07 by emergence hole
© Nick Lawman
50.002 Leopard Moth 05
© Andrew Cockroft/Mike sharpe
50.002 Leopard Moth 04
© Damian Money
50.002 Leopard Moth 03
© Charles Fletcher, 17 Jul 2005
50.002 Leopard Moth 02
© Charles Fletcher, 8 Jul 2009
50.002 Leopard Moth 01
© Terry Box, 27 Jun 2011

Species Account

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: There do not appear to be any recent VC62 records and none at all for VC65. Skinner (1984) mentions Yorkshire as the northern limit of the species' distribution so it may be a real boundary rather than a lack of recording. On map 2 in MBGBI 2, the record from 10km square TA07 (from Harpham), just north of Driffield, is shown as the most northerly in Britain.

2012 (CHF): We now have recent records from all five VCs. Thinly distributed in lowland areas. This is still the northern limit of this species' range apart from one larval record in Durham probably brought in on imported logs.
 

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