12.039 BF230  –  Tineidae –  Tineinae – Monopis crocicapitella – Pale-backed Detritus Moth – (Clemens, 1859) Adult Micro:  CAT 2 – Confusion Species –       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Black – Uncertain/Unknown – Insufficient Data   
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Tineidae  >> Tineinae
Other Name/s: Pale-backed Clothes Moth
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Monopis obviella
ID pointers: A pale golden yellow head, with a dark brown forewing that has a scattering of golden yellow scales. An obvious pale yellowish central spot in forewing. A prominent pale yellow stripe down the dorsum bordering the central pale yellow band on thorax. Hind wing is pale grey.
Distribution:  Status unknown in Derbyshire due to insufficient data with only a handful of reported records. Suspect widespread just simply under-recorded. Very difficult to tell apart from Monopis obviella.
General Comment: None
Flight Period: June /  July /  August /  September /  October –  On the wing in June – October Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Tony Davison  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 10-16mm
Food Plant: various materials: flour, oats, other seeds and woollen refuse
Last Recorded By – Tony Davison
Last Recorded General Area – Melbourne

Selected Images:  Melbourne, Derbyshire – Tony Davison © – Possibly Monopis crocicapitella.

 
 


 

Distribution Map for Monopis crocicapitella

Found 14 records
    ↳ 7 from After 2025
    ↳ 6 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 1 from Before 2020
Flying
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

If the Map Layers function fails, just refresh the page and it should be OK after. Use the +- zoom on the top left, or on a tablet, use two fingers to zoom. Remember, the last layer you ticked is the one which displays the popup information - they sit on top of each other - de-select then re-select, to see the popup values.

Bedrock Geology ** indirectly affects moth distribution by influencing the type of habitat and food plants available in an area. In turn, this may affect the types of moths that can thrive, or where they can most likely be found.


NBN Atlas UK Distribution for – Monopis crocicapitella

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Note – the NBN Atlas datasets are listed in the map below and vary in their currency (uptodateness) – however, the map does give a general indication of the moth's distribution across the UK.

Visit NBN Site


Monthly Records By Year: Monopis crocicapitella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Monthly Counts By Year: Monopis crocicapitella
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only. )


First/Last Recorded Dates: Monopis crocicapitella
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]

Shading shows moth presence between dates

Click the colour discs below to Select/De-select as Required

Recordings By Year: Monopis crocicapitella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Monopis crocicapitella
AGR: 2.25%   |   Total % Change: 14.3%


CUSUM Analysis: Monopis crocicapitella
About this chart: CUSUM (Cumulative Sum) charts track long-term trends in moth populations [ filtered by 'Adult' and 'Mine' life stages ] by showing whether each year’s counts are above or below the historical average. Even small shifts build up over time, making trends of growth, stability, or decline easier to see. CUSUM highlights trend-consistency — asking: “Across the years, have moth counts mostly stayed above or below average?”
The data sample has 20 gap year/s here (zero records) between 2000 and 2025. The moth may have been present in those gap years, but no data was available. Too many year-gaps may exaggerate or skew the chart.

Counts for the current year (2025) are pro-rated based on data available up to month 9 (September) to provide a full-year equivalent.

Purple line rises = years better than average; falls = years worse than average.
Peak (best year) Trough (worst year) Growth periods Decline periods
Population peaked around 2025, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2024, showing a significant decline.

What the Y-axis "Cumulative Deviation" means: Cumulative Deviation shows the running total of how each year’s moth population count differs from the long-term average. i

Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Monopis crocicapitella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Monopis crocicapitella
( data includes Adult Stage only )

Flight Period chart – the grey hatched area above, which can cross one or more months, pictorially represents the best guess we have for this moth's flight periods [month/s]. The coloured lines represent the actual months seen in flight, from site observation records received between 2020-2025.

Records Behind the Map and Charts - Monopis crocicapitella – 14 records available

Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Ingleby Ave, DerbySK33L18/09/20252adultvc57_irecords_extract
Ingleby Ave, DerbySK33L14/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Derby DESK33I05/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Ingleby Ave, DerbySK33L28/06/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Derby DESK33I23/06/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Ingleby Ave, DerbySK33L30/05/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Allestree, DerbySK33P24/05/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Ingleby Ave, DerbySK33L16/06/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Woodland AveSK43R11/08/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Woodland AveSK43R30/06/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Allestree, DerbySK33P16/08/20221adultvc57_irecords_extract
Woodland AveSK43R07/07/20221Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Midway, Derbys.SK32A28/09/20201adultvc57_irecords_extract
Findern, Derbyshire, DEAZSK33A01/06/20191adultvc57_irecords_extract

 
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