Morley's Final Catalogue: Somewhat thinly sporadic; certainly rare about Ipswich, where one came to light in 1895 (Pyett). Playford (G); larvae feeding on Silene maritima at Landguard on the shore (Mera, Entom. 1916, 287); Aldeburgh. Coddenham, Needham, Stowmarket, Bury, Brandon and once (Vivian) freely at light in Tuddenham. Gorleston (Mr). Abundant on Dunwich beach, 1937 (Hawley).

Recent Suffolk Status: Local, fairly common along the coast but quite scattered elsewhere in the county.

Life history: Single-brooded, although possibly double-brooded in Suffolk. Seen from April right through till the end of September. Can come to light in large numbers at some vegetated shingle sites e.g. Orfordness.

Identification: Quite a variable species, with some being very plain white with almost no markings whilst others are heavily marked in brown. Could be confused with Sand dart, but that has a longer forewing and a white hindwing without the dark border present in Tawny shears.

Habitat: Vegetated shingle, coastal grassland sites, calcareous grassland, gardens.

Recorded in 43 (74%) of 58 10k Squares. First Recorded in 1895. Last Recorded in 2024. Additional Stats

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