73.010 BF2436  – Dewick's Plusia – Macdunnoughia confusa – (Stephens, 1850) Adult Macro:  CAT 3 – Difficult to identify – Quality set of photographs required – Difficult to identify /Very rare/Scarce (includes very scarce adventives/immigrants)/County-level first records       PDF Icon – click for Adult Macro Verification Guidelines

Brown –  Significant Record / Very Rare / Vagrant        orange – Migrant
Taxonomy:   Macro  >>.  >>  Noctuidae  >> Plusinae
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Golden Twin-spot; Gold Spangle
ID pointers: Unmistakable. Easily recognised by large metallic silver ‘dog-leg’ mark in the centre of a pinkish-brown bar on the forewing.
Distribution:  (First record: 2 September 2022 at Breaston )  –  (Last record: 3 August 2025 at Cromford )  –  Latest Record – September 2024 – A new species for Derbyshire 2022 – This moth is a rare migrant and possibly a new colonist to Britain, from continental Europe, being recorded less than 400 times. The first Derbyshire record was discovered in a Breaston garden moth trap on Friday 2nd September 2022. The second county record was from Haddon Hall on 10 August 2023 and then another specimen trapped over-night on 17/18th August 2023 by Dave Evans in his Belper garden. During August to October of 2023 an incredible 9 individuals were recorded, 1 from Haddon Hall, 2 from Belper, 3 from Sandiacre and 3 from Long Eaton. Another record of this species from Belper on 1st September 2024
General Comment: None
Flight Period: July /  August /  September /  October –  On the wing July – October.  Moth Activity: Nocturnal   – and is attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Steve Thorpe, Dave Evans. Clive Ashton  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 12 January 2026 by TD ***
Wingspan: 32-38mm
Forewing: 12-17mm
Food Plant: Nettle (Urtica dioica).
Last Recorded Year: 2025
Last Recorded By – Clive Ashton
Last Recorded General Area – Cromford

Selected Images:  Belper, Derbyshire – Dave Evans ©  /  Breaston, Derbyshire – Steve Thorpe © / Cromford (aug2025) Clive Ashton©



Occurrence Distribution From All Available Data (Adult & Immature)
(click legend below to show/hide datasets)

Distribution Map for Macdunnoughia confusa

Found 15 records
    ↳ from 2026+
    ↳ 15 from 2020 - 2025
    ↳ 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 – Macdunnoughia confusa

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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: Macdunnoughia confusa
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Macdunnoughia confusa
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: Macdunnoughia confusa
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Macdunnoughia confusa
AGR: 0%   |   Total % Change: 0%

Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Macdunnoughia confusa
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Macdunnoughia confusa

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 2020-2026.

Records Behind the Map and Charts - Macdunnoughia confusa – 15 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
upper cromford gardenSK25Y06/09/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Midway, Derbys.SK32A24/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Chaddesden GardenSK33T18/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
upper cromford gardenSK25Y17/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
BelperSK34N11/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
upper cromford gardenSK25Y03/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
BelperSK34U26/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
upper cromford gardenSK25Y25/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
BelperSK34N01/09/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
SandiacreSK43T08/10/20232adultvc57_irecords_extract
Allestree, DerbySK33P08/10/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
SandiacreSK43T23/09/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
StonebroomSK45E16/09/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
BelperSK34N18/08/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Woodland AveSK43R02/09/20221adultvc57_irecords_extract

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