Species Details

ABH: 71.018

BF: 2006

Family: Notodontidae

Subfamily: Notodontinae

Taxon: Pheosia gnoma

Authority: (Fabricius, [1777])

Vernacular: Lesser Swallow Prominent

Account: Common in woodland, heathland, moorland, downland, parks and gardens throughout the British Isles. The main confusion species is Swallow Prominent P. tremula, in which the very distinct white, wedge-shaped tornal dash of Lesser Swallow Prominent is replaced by a thin white line. Larva feeds on Silver and Downy Birch, 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: 46 — 58 mm

Surrey Flight Period: 1 Apr (1990) — 19 Sep (2019)

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

Foodplant: Betula sp. (a birch).

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: 2 — Care needed to identify, an image may be required 🤔
Further Information: https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/pheosia-gnoma/
Statistics

* Based on adult records only.

Records: 1185

Individuals: 576

Earliest Year: 1864

Latest Year: 2025

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