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Dark Sword-grass
Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel, 1766)
Noctuidae: Noctuinae
2091 / 73.327
Photo © Allan Rodda,  Wykeham Causeway, Scarborough 3/8/23

Similar Yorkshire Species
Pearly Underwing
Peridroma saucia
Turnip Moth
Agrotis segetum
Forewing: 15-25mm
Flight: July - October mainly but noted in all months
Foodplant:   Herbaceous plants
Red List:
GB Status: Immigrant
Verification Grade:  Adult: 2

Yorkshire Status: Common migrant.

This is one of our most regular migrant species and can turn up anywhere in the county, though like a lot of migrants, is commonest near the coast. Numbers vary from year to year, but it is not uncommon to receive over 200 records in a year, the maximum so far being 426 in the "migrant year" of 2006. Although 92% of our records are of just one or two moths, much larger numbers have at times turned up at Spurn, the maximum being 64 on 11/10/1970 - a particularly good year for this species when unprecedented numbers turned up on the coast. We have records from every month of the year except February. It is usually fairly easy to identify, being longer-winged than the confusion species. The black "darts" in the outer part of the forewing are usually still visible on worn individuals.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: This annual immigrant distributes itself widely but quite thinly over all five vice-counties. Perhaps not surprisingly, it is most frequent near the coast.

Recorded in 138 (69%) of 200 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1846.
Last Recorded in 2024.
Additional Stats

Latest 5 Records
Date#VC10k Area
10/11/2024164SE24 - Bramhope / Otley
10/11/2024165SE37 - Ripon
10/11/2024161TA07 - Hunmanby
08/11/2024161TA07 - Hunmanby
08/11/2024261TA17 - Bempton
Further info: Agrotis ipsilon
 
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Lepiforum.de Yorkshire Moths (Full)
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