Common Wainscot
Mythimna pallens

Species account (old)
Regarded as of equal abundance and 'precisely similar habits' to [Mythimina] impura by Robson, [Mythimina] pallens is now recognised to become distinctly the scarcer of the two towards the north and west of mainland Britain [...] In Durham it is widespread and abundant, notably on the eastern limestone plateau where it is found in numbers in the old limestone quarries and surviving patches of limestone grassland such as Thrislington and Cassop. It also appears in the western traps at Langdon Beck and Hamsterley Forest, but less abundantly than [Mythimina] impura.
Statistics
Records | 1726 |
---|---|
Individuals | 3416 |
Largest Sample | 125 |
First Recorded | 1877 |
Last Recorded | 2023 |
Earliest Adult Record | 04/05 |
Latest Adult Record | 25/10 |
Monad Coverage | 5.9% |
Hexad Coverage | 76.2% |

Map
This map shows all records of Common Wainscot - Mythimna pallens in the Durham (VC66) database per monad (1km grid square). The map can be explored further by zooming and panning, can be reset using the button on the left, and can be filtered by selecting the era. Click on a monad to view a full list of species recorded in it, or its containing hexad (10km grid square).

Week graph
This graph shows the County Durham (VC66) records of Common Wainscot - Mythimna pallens per 7-day period, differentiated by life stage. Hover over/tap the graph to see an exact count of records at that point in time. Hover over/hold the life stage legend to highlight a particular life stage; click on a life stage label to remove it from the graph. The graph can be filtered further by selecting the era.
The graphs below show the total records and individuals of Common Wainscot - Mythimna pallens in County Durham (VC66) per time period. Hover over/tap the graph to see an exact number of records and individuals at a particular point in time. Hover over/hold a label to highlight a particular metric; click on a metric label to remove it from the graph.
Era graph
Year graph

Gallery
This gallery shows images of Common Wainscot - Mythimna pallens. Clicking on a photo opens it in a large lightbox with a full caption, and the arrow buttons move between photos. If you would like to contribute any photographs, particularly of any stages not captured here, please email admin@durhammoths.org. Most photos on this website have been taken by County Durham (VC66) recorders, but please note that not all have been taken in the county.

Foodplants
This is a list of foodplants known to be used by the larval stages of Common Wainscot - Mythimna pallens in the UK.
Habitats
This is a list of habitats that Common Wainscot - Mythimna pallens is known to occur in within the UK.
Habitat and foodplant information derived from Cook, P.M.; Tordoff, G.M.; Davis, A.M.; Parsons, M.S.; Dennis, E.B.; Fox, R.; Botham, M.S.; Bourn, N.A.D. (2022). Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2022. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/33a66d6a-dd9b-4a19-9026-cf1ffb969cdb