General comments:
Extinct resident.

Wormley, 1899 (Edelsten) and Hitchin, undated (Tuke) are the only records given by Foster (1937). It is also noted from Bushey Heath in 1939 by E. W. Classey (Foster, 1942). There are no other records. The accuracy of the record by Eric Classey is beyond question and so too, probably is that of Edelsten; nothing in my research has indicated any unreliability on the part of Tuke, though Hitchin is hardly a suitable locality resting, as it does, on the mostly calcareous solifluction deposits laid on top of the Chalky Boulder Clay. The moth is not known for its migratory movements and is generally regarded as fairly sedentary. The decline of heathland in lowland Britain took place very largely during and after the Second World War and it is not hard to imagine that heather may well have grown in heathland habitat in all three areas at the time of the records. Nationally, the moth is well distributed to the south of us from Sussex to Hampshire with scattered localities in Breckland to our north-east; there are also thriving populations north-west of a line drawn between about Bristol and Lincolnshire. Taking all this into account, it seems likely that the Beautiful Yellow Underwing was once resident in Hertfordshire, presumably confined to heathland with heathers and so extremely local in its distribution.

Recorded in 4 (10%) of 41 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1899. Last Recorded in 1995. Additional Stats

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