Early Grey (Xylocampa areola) | Species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Taken at Aston, Oxon., on March 21st 2025. (© David Hastings) (1/320th sec at f/10) DescriptionFamily: Noctuidae (ABH : 73.069) Wing span: 30 - 36mm The Early Grey has an ash-grey fore-wing, rough in appearance and marbled with blackish-grey. The oval and kidney marks are pale, and there is an additional oval joined to the first, and also to the kidney mark in most cases. It is well-distributed in the British Isles, but is absent from most of eastern Scotland. It is found in broad-leaved woodland, scrub, hedgerows and gardens. There is one generation per year, from March to May. It over-winters as a pupa underground in a strong cocoon. Larvae feed on honeysuckles, both wild and cultivated. It comes to light, sometimes in numbers, often settling on nearby trees or fences rather than entering the trap. It feeds at sallow catkins. Earliest UK sighting: 26th February ; Latest UK sighting: 1st May Sightings
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