Species Details

ABH: 73.114

BF: 2305

Family: Noctuidae

Subfamily: Xyleninae

Taxon: Euplexia lucipara

Authority: (Linnaeus, 1758)

Vernacular: Small Angle Shades

Account: Common in gardens, parks, woodland, heathland and moorland throughout the British Isles; well distributed across much of Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight. Wingspan 30-35 mm. Unmistakable resting posture with forewing folded in on itself at the costa only shared by the much larger Angle Shades Phlogophora meticulosa. The larva is one of the few to feed on bracken and other ferns, but will also feed on a variety of herbaceous plants and shrubs, including birch and sallow, over-wintering as a pupa.

Accounts provided by and used with the kind permission of Mike Wall, Hampshire County Moth Recorder. These will in due course be gradually replaced with species accounts with a Surrey context.

Wingspan: 30 — 35 mm

Surrey Flight Period: 15 May (2022) — 25 Sep (1953)

The flight period of overwintering adults are not given. See the flight chart below the distribution map.

Foodplant: Filicopsida, Pteridium aquilinum (Bracken).

Foodplant accounts are from the HOSTS database — Natural History Museum, London, UK. (CC0).

Status: Least Concern (LC)

UK BAP:

WCA:

Click here to view the full geology map of Surrey.

Verification Grade: 1 — Relatively easily identified 👌

Further Information: https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/euplexia-lucipara/

Statistics

* Based on adult records only.

Records: 587

Individuals: 200

Earliest Year: 1904

Latest Year: 2025

« Previous Random 🎲 Next »