Although it has a widespread distribution throughout most of Britain this species has always been rare in the north of England. This may be partly due to confusion with the very similar but far more common A.acanthadactyla from which it can be separated with care by its duller grey brown colour and the shape of the scale tooth on the 3rd lobe of the hindwing. The first county record is of an adult taken in the Chester-le-Street Rothamsted light trap on 27th June 1994. Since then there have just three further records, all of adults either taken at light or photographed in the field in the north and west of the county.