0.270 BF1947 - Engrailed - Geometridae - Ectropis crepuscularia
70.270 BF1947  – Engrailed  – Ectropis crepuscularia  – (Goeze, 1781)
Adult Macro:  CAT 2 – Can be confused with other species – Good photographs may be required – Can be confused with other species      
PDF Icon – click for Adult Macro Verification Guidelines

Blue –  Generally Common / Widespread    
Taxonomy:   Macro  >>.  >>  Geometridae  >> Ennominae
** Recent DNA profiling has shown Engrailed and Small Engrailed to be one and the same – Report as Engrailed – Ectropis crepuscularia **

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ID pointers: Rests with wings open and flat. Ground colour brownish-white, brown or grey-brown. The markings are darker. On the central cross-line there is a darkish mark and two dark darts along the leading edge of the forewing. There are a number of wavy cross-lines with “W” shaped markings and scalloped markings on the hind-wings in particular. A really interesting identification note has come from one of our verifiers, Christian Heintzen, who comments “Aside from the other distinguishing feature(s) I have found that all the Engrailed that I have caught have a mark on the first abdominal segments that resembles a face with thick eyebrows or sunglasses”. See the inset in the image in the gallery below.
Distribution:  A resident that is locally common and widespread throughout Derbyshire. It is only common in a few well wooded areas which include well established coniferous plantations.
General Comment: None
Flight Period: March /  April /  May /  June /  July /  August /  September –  Two main generations March – June and July- August, sometimes into Sept-Oct Moth Activity: Nocturnal  Crepuscular   – active from dusk into the night Photographed: Yes –   Photographed By: Tony Davison; Christian Heintzen  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 29 March 2026 by RP ***
Wingspan: 30-40mm
Forewing: 15-22mm
Food Plant: Woody plants.
Specific Recorded History Dates for Common [Blue code Blue-coded] moths is not displayed/updated in this tab. However, all verified records for this moth are listed in the RECORDS tab below.

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