Yorkshire Status: Rather local resident.

Sprawler has a rather patchy distribution in Yorkshire, and in fact in the UK as a whole. It is locally common in well-wooded areas in the west of VC64 and 65 but is a rare beast in VC63 and in counties to our south. Nationally it seems to have been lost from some of its old haunts in the south and west. Although it is usually just seen in small numbers, at times it can be locally common. The largest counts have come from Bellflask, north of Ripon, with a maximum of 58 on 24/10/2002. It is difficult to be certain of trends of such late-flying species as a minority of people trap at the end of the year. Apparently its vernacular name 'Sprawler' comes from the larva's habit of throwing back its head in a defensive posture.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: Now quite frequently recorded from the north of VC64 and the south of the North York Moors (VC62), but still distinctly uncommon in the other three vice-counties. The most recent record for VC63 given in the last list (YNU, 1970) was incorrect in that Stutton is in VC64.

Recorded in 66 (33%) of 200 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1883.
Last Recorded in 2024.
Additional Stats