A nice trip to the Quantock Great Wood last night. I noticed a good stand of broom growing along a bridleway at the weekend. As the early evening was cloudy and quite mild, I went back to look for Streak. There were 5 flying over the bushes at 18:45. They have an unusual wing shape which makes them look very flappy in torchlight.

This is quite a good record for the county. Keith Brown found a few in the area during the 1990s (though one colony at Hawkridge has been destroyed by hedgerow flailing). More recently Peter has caught some at Wiveliscombe. Apart from that it's not frequently encountered.

I think it's more common than the records suggest. I would be surprised if the moths disperse far from the foodplant, certainly not enough to reach most of our garden traps. Broom is widespread on the Quantocks and Exmoor. Given the effort required to find adults and the uncertain late season weather, I think searching for larvae will be more productive.