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Old Lady
Mormo maura (Linnaeus, 1758)
Noctuidae: Xyleninae
2300 / 73.107
Photo © Antony Wren,  Lowestoft, Suffolk

Similar Suffolk Species: None
Forewing: 30-36mm.
Flight: One generation July-Sept.
Foodplant:   Herbaceous and woody plants.
Red List: Least Concern (LC)
GB Status: Common
Former Status: Local
Verification Grade:  Adult: 1

Morley's Final Catalogue: The Old Lady glides sedately into our houses every autumn, and seats herself serenely on our walls, from Bentley to Gorleston, respected of all.

Recent Suffolk status: Common.

Life history: Single-brooded. Adults are weakly attracted to light traps. Regularly attends both sugar patches, wine ropes and sap runs. Frequently found or disturbed during the daytime in outbuildings, sometimes in large groups resting together. Also noted at Ivy flowers in the autumn.
The large larvae have been found fairly regularly in Suffolk in the spring, ascending Ivy and other plants after dark to feed on the soft new growth.

Identification: Unmistakeable.

Habitat: River valleys, marshes, hedgerows, woodland, scrub and gardens.

Recorded in 45 (78%) of 58 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1940.
Last Recorded in 2023.

Latest 5 Records
Date#VC10k Area
01/10/2023125TM14 - Ipswich
24/09/2023126TL78 - Brandon/Lakenheath
16/09/2023125TM35 - Snape/Tunstall
15/09/2023126TL96 - Thurston/Elmswell
15/09/2023125TM04 - Hadleigh
Further info: Mormo maura
 
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