ID pointers: The pale greyish white of the male with orange-yellow fringes to both wings and a pale yellow stripe along the basal third of the forewing is usually distinctive. The female is slightly larger with browner coloured wings. The wings are long and narrower than similar Buff Footman. There is an orange colour morph (f.unicolor) that could easily be mistaken for Orange Footman. Christian Heintzen recorded this colour morph in 2023 and has photographed it again in 2024 in Glossop, caught by a fellow moth-trapper. Three things to bear in mind with Orange Footman v Buff Footman (f.unicolor).
1) Orange Footman is significantly smaller than Buff Footman. 2) Orange Footman occurs earlier than Buff Footman (May/June vs July/Aug with an overlap in June.
3) Orange Footman has a leading forewing edge that is angled 2/3 down the line and this angle is quite sharp and noticeable. The leading edge of the Buff Footman forewing is smoothly curved, showing no sudden sharp turn (photographs taken in sideview do not show this feature very well). Also, the trailing corner of the forewings can protrude slightly over/under the leading edge of the forewing creating a ‘false angle’ that could be mistaken for the real thing.