Yorkshire Status: Common and fairly widespread resident.

This is by far the most common of our three Kitten species. It is often confused with the less common, larger and longer-winged Poplar Kitten. We receive a lot of photos asking for our opinion - it is nearly always Sallow Kitten! It is a moth of areas with willows (of all kinds). Most larvae in the county have been found on sallows. It often comes into gardens. There are two broods in Yorkshire, the second being larger. Numbers trapped are usually small but in good habitat can sometimes reach double figures. Numbers and distribution are stable in the county though it is uncommon in the north-west. It has two overlapping broods in Yorkshire; the second being larger.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: Not recorded from VC65 (though recorded from the Durham side of Teesdale (Dunn & Parrack, 1986)). Otherwise locally widespread. It appears to have spread in some areas.

Recorded in 134 (67%) of 200 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1847.
Last Recorded in 2024.
Additional Stats