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Davey, P., 2009: A declining species restricted mainly to south-east Britain, the larva feeding nocturnally on the flowers and immature seeds and later the foliage of various grass species. In Dorset, the moth has declined to the point of extinction with just a handful of resident records in the past ten years, notably from West Blagdon which is in the vicinity of Martin Down. This contrasts markedly with its "local, but locally frequent" (W Parkinson Curtis ms) status nearly fifty years ago. The moth depends on unimproved dry chalky grassland, and the wholesale improvement and thus destruction of this habitat seems to have all but wiped out this species. All Dorset records follow: Sherborne, (Dale), Chesil Beach, (J Bradley, D Fletcher), Dorchester, at light on 19 June 1950, two at light on 13 June 1952 (Dr A Lisney), Portland, not scarce (C Partridge), common (N Richardson), Milton Abbey, (O Leigh Wood), Chamberlaynes, at light on 11 June 1929 and on 1 July 1929, at honeycomb on 19, two on 20, 21, two on 26 June and on 1 July 1936 (H Andrewes), Bloxworth, (O Pickard Cambridge), (W Parkinson Curtis), Iwerne Minster, at MV on 21 June 1955, three between 18 June and 6 July 1956, 24, 27 June and 4 July 58, four between 14 June 1959 and 25 June 1959, 18 June and 25 July 1960, 21 May 1961, (H Moore), Blandford, (S Scarsdale Brown), Gussage St Michael, (Reverend J Ward), Scar Bank, at light on 21 May 1936, 28 May 1948, 18 June 1949 (A Russell), Cranborne, tolerably common (Reverend F Fisher), Woolland, at MV on 28 June 1997 (P Benham), West Blagdon, at MV on 22 July 2003, two on 4, four on 5, and three on 6 June 2004 (D Green), Highcliffe, two (B Barton coll.). |