– click for Adult Macro Verification Guidelines
– Significant Record / Very Rare / Vagrant 
– Migrant
– care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required. ID pointers: Quite an unmistakeable moth, due to blackish horizontal streaks through central forewing. There is a blackish band across the abdomen and the wings are very narrow, with paler brown ground colour than in other pugs of similar appearance.
Distribution: (First record: 20 September 2021 at Midway ) – (Last record: 6 September 2025 at Sandiacre & Norton Lees ) – A record of this species appeared on iRecord and has been verified by the Records Team. A specimen was recorded from Midway on 20th September 2021. This represents the first record of this species for VC57 and Derbyshire. The individual that was recorded from an overnight trap at Allestree, Derby, 13/14 August 2022 now becomes the second record, with another from Newall on 2 October 2022. Three remarkable records. Further records from Sheffield (VC57) 1 September 2023, Sandiacre 10 September 2023, Cromford, 11 September 2023. and Glapwell 16 September 2023. The eighth individual was recorded by Brian Hobby from his Kirk Hallam garden on 29 August 2024. A single individual recorded from a Sandiacre garden on 1st September 2024 by Emily Louise Milnes is now the ninth Derbyshire record. Dave Newcombe from Belper recorded the tenth individual overnight on 7th October 2024. 2 records on 6/9/2025 represent 11th & 12th individuals. Since the first one was recorded in Cornwall in 1959, this species has been expanding its range along the south coast and northwards into the south Midlands. First recorded in VC55 (Leics & Rutland) 4years ago. The larval food plant is Monterey Cypress, but also accepts Lawson’s Cypress and Leyland Cypress in captivity.
*** Last updated on 14 September 2025 by TD ***
Forewing: 10-11mm
Last Recorded Year: 2025
First Recorded Year: 2021
Last Recorded By – Emily Milnes & Pete Mella
Last Recorded General Area – Sandiacre & Norton Lees
IMAGES BELOW: Belper, Sandiacre, Kirk Hallam, Sheffield (VC57), Allestree – Images by kind permission of Dave Newcombe ©, Emily Louise Milnes ©, Brian Hobby ©, Malcolm Tait ©, Stephen Plant ©
Cypress Pug - 7th October 2024, Belper, Dave Newcombe
Cypress Pug - 2nd September 2024 - Sandiacre - Emily Louise Milnes©
Distribution Map for Eupithecia phoeniceata
Found 10 records
↳ 0 from After 2025
↳ 10 from 2020 - 2024
↳ 0 from Before 2020
↳ 0 from After 2025
↳ 10 from 2020 - 2024
↳ 0 from Before 2020
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.
******* Choose ONLY one at a time, of either Monad, Tetrad or Hectad Distribution - each has it's own set of data. Also, the distribution maps cover ALL recorded data. *******
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.
Land-cover * shows the variety of land-cover within the VC57 area, based on the CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment) forty-four thematic classes of land-cover. This will show, to a greater or lesser degree, the number and variety of moths found in different land-cover types. The UK continues to operate within the Copernicus programme, with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) providing Corine Land Cover (CLC) datasets for the UK and its territories.
NBN Atlas UK Distribution for – Eupithecia phoeniceata
⚠️ Please wait for the map to load fully – do not click the link shown.
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.
Monthly Records By Year:
Eupithecia phoeniceata
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Monthly Counts By Year: Eupithecia phoeniceata
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only. )
First/Last Recorded Dates: Eupithecia phoeniceata
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: Eupithecia phoeniceata
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Eupithecia phoeniceata
AGR: 0% | Total % Change: 0%
CUSUM Analysis: Eupithecia phoeniceata
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 22 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 7 (July) 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 2021, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2021, 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: Eupithecia phoeniceata
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Eupithecia phoeniceata
Eupithecia phoeniceata
( 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 - Eupithecia phoeniceata – 10 records available
Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns
| Taxon | Site Name | Tetrad | Year | Date | Count | Stage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eupithecia phoeniceata | Belper, Derbyshire | SK34N | 2024 | 08/10/2024 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Eupithecia phoeniceata | Sandiacre Garden | SK43T | 2024 | 02/09/2024 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Eupithecia phoeniceata | Ilkeston, Derbyshire | SK44K | 2024 | 29/08/2024 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Eupithecia phoeniceata | Lower Cromford Garden | SK25Y | 2023 | 11/09/2023 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Eupithecia phoeniceata | Sandiacre | SK43T | 2023 | 10/09/2023 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Eupithecia phoeniceata | Havercroft Road | SK38L | 2023 | 01/09/2023 | 1 | Adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Eupithecia phoeniceata | SK | SK22V | 2022 | 02/10/2022 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Eupithecia phoeniceata | Allestree, Derby | SK33P | 2022 | 02/09/2022 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Eupithecia phoeniceata | Allestree, Derby | SK33P | 2022 | 13/08/2022 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Eupithecia phoeniceata | Midway, Derbys. | SK32A | 2021 | 20/09/2021 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |