Bishop Wilton Poor Land

Also within

East Riding of Yorkshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Unit	Feature	Condition	Area (ha)	Assessed
SE778557	—	Favourable	2.07	2017-04-13

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Triassic

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Species	Season
cuckoo	Unknown

Description

Area, 2.1 hectares 5.2 ac Description Bishop Wilton Poorland consists of a small, low lying hayfield situated on Lacustrine Claysover lying Triassic Mercia Mudstones approximately seven kilometres north north east of Pocklington. The meadow is important as one of the best examples of unimproved, species rich, damp neutral grassland in North Humberside and is maintained by traditional management for hay. Such meadows which were formerly widespread are now restricted in distribution due to modern agricultural practices, particularly reseeding and the use of artificial fertilisers. The grassland sward consists of a varied mixture of grasses and herbs with no single species being especially dominant. Grasses such as meadow foxtail Alopecurus pratensis, red fescue Festuca rubra, sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus and yellow oat grass Trisetum flavescens are all common, as are herbs such as great burnet Sanguisorba officinalis, meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, ribwort plantain Plantago lanceolata, meadow vetchling Lathyrus pratensis, common knapweed Centaurea nigra, common sorrel Rumex acetosa, pignut Conopodium majus, cuckoo-flower Cardamine pratensis, cowslip Primula veris, yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor and red clover Trifolium pratense. Of more restricted distribution within the meadow are species such as devil's bit scabious Succisa pratensis, wood anemone Anemone nemorosa, ragged-robin Silene flos-cuculi and, of particular note, meadow barley Hordeum secalinum, pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus and saw wort Serratula tinctoria. The latter group of species all have a restricted distribution in the British Isles and are uncommon in Humberside. The abundance of the uncommon adder's tongue Ophioglossum vulgatum within the meadow is a particularly notable feature.

Species mentioned

Show the 23 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status ▾

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Grouped by host-plant — open a plant to see its insects. Some insects feed on more than one of these plants, so they appear under each.

Common sorrel Rumex 10

Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	Rumex acetosa
Fiery clearwing Pyropteron chrysidiformis	Endangered	Rumex acetosa
Broom moth Ceramica pisi	Vulnerable	any Rumex
Garden dart Euxoa nigricans	Vulnerable	any Rumex
Beaded chestnut Agrochola lychnidis	Near Threatened	any Rumex
Grey chi Antitype chi	Near Threatened	any Rumex
Garden tiger Arctia caja	Near Threatened	any Rumex
The sallow Cirrhia icteritia	Near Threatened	any Rumex
Autumnal rustic Eugnorisma glareosa	Near Threatened	any Rumex
Dark-barred twin-spot carpet Xanthorhoe ferrugata	Near Threatened	any Rumex

Ribwort plantain Plantago 8

Marsh moth Athetis pallustris	Endangered	Plantago lanceolata
Heath fritillary Melitaea athalia	Endangered	Plantago lanceolata
Glanville fritillary Melitaea cinxia	Endangered	Plantago lanceolata
Marsh fritillary Euphydryas aurinia	Vulnerable	any Plantago
Garden dart Euxoa nigricans	Vulnerable	any Plantago
Grey chi Antitype chi	Near Threatened	Plantago lanceolata
Garden tiger Arctia caja	Near Threatened	any Plantago
Autumnal rustic Eugnorisma glareosa	Near Threatened	any Plantago

Black knapweed Centaurea 4

Black-veined moth Siona lineata	Critically Endangered	Centaurea nigra
Satyr pug Eupithecia satyrata	Vulnerable	any Centaurea
Grey pug Eupithecia subfuscata	Near Threatened	any Centaurea
Scarce forester Jordanita globulariae	Near Threatened	Centaurea nigra

Meadow vetchling Lathyrus pratensis 3

New forest Zygaena viciae	Critically Endangered	Lathyrus pratensis
Wood white Leptidea sinapis	Endangered	Lathyrus pratensis
Latticed heath Chiasmia clathrata	Near Threatened	Lathyrus pratensis

Red clover Trifolium 3

Garden dart Euxoa nigricans	Vulnerable	any Trifolium
Beaded chestnut Agrochola lychnidis	Near Threatened	any Trifolium
Latticed heath Chiasmia clathrata	Near Threatened	any Trifolium

Red fescue Festuca 2

Grayling Hipparchia semele	Vulnerable	Festuca rubra
Small heath Coenonympha pamphilus	Near Threatened	any Festuca

Meadow sweet Filipendula ulmaria 2

Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	Filipendula ulmaria
Satyr pug Eupithecia satyrata	Vulnerable	Filipendula ulmaria

Saw wort Serratula tinctoria 2

Reddish buff Acosmetia caliginosa	Critically Endangered	Serratula tinctoria
Mouse moth Amphipyra tragopoginis	Vulnerable	Serratula tinctoria

Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus 1

Wall Lasiommata megera

Near Threatened

Holcus lanatus

Cowslip Primula veris 1

Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina

Endangered

Primula veris

Yellow-rattle Rhinanthus minor 1

Satyr pug Eupithecia satyrata

Vulnerable

Rhinanthus minor

Devils-bit scabious Succisa pratensis 1

Marsh fritillary Euphydryas aurinia

Vulnerable

Succisa pratensis

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.