Distribution and Abundance: Very common.

Primary Habitat: General occurrence.

Flight Period: Almost entirely single brooded from May to July with an occasional small second brood in the autumn.

Observations: The moth can be very common in garden light traps and in open country, contrasting with the much smaller catches in woodland. The highest annual catch that I have been able to trace is of 4026 individuals taken in a Wellingborough garden in 1953. More recently garden light trap catches in excess of 1,000 are achieved annually in Northampton, whereas the highest catch at the Fineshade woodland Rothamsted trap was 198 in 1996. It is apparent in comparing recent and old records that currently moths are being seen earlier in the year than formerly. The earliest date that I have been able to trace is 1 May 1997, but on average the moths seem to appear about a week and a half earlier than forty or fifty years ago. The moth is subject to occasional variation and the second picture shows a confluent form of the moth taken at light in Kettering in 2011.

L.O.N.: 1907. Everywhere. Abundant.

First Record: 1882, Hull & Tomalin.