Grey/Dark Dagger agg. - Acronicta tridens/psi agg.

Description

The adults of Grey Dagger and Dark Dagger cannot be readily distinguished and records should be added as an aggregate unless identification by genitalia dissection has been undertaken. The caterpillar stage is not a problem as the species are quite different.

Identification difficulty
When to see it

Adults fly in June and July.

UK Status

Both species appear to be widespread in Britain although true status is difficult to determine due to the difficulty of identification.

VC55 Status

NatureSpot records for the caterpillar stage suggest that Grey Dagger - Acronicta psi is the more common of the two species in our area.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Grey/Dark Dagger
Species group:
insect - moth
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Noctuidae
Records on NatureSpot:
302
First record:
01/06/1948 (Wesley, Isaac)
Last record:
25/07/2025 (Wander, Adrian)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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