35.089 BF794  –  Gelechiidae –  Gelechiinae – Prolita sexpunctella – Six-spot Grey – (Fabricius, 1794) Adult Micro:  CAT 2 – Confusion Species –       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Green –  Rare / Uncommon / Scarce        day-flying – Day-flying
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Gelechiidae  >> Gelechiinae
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
ID pointers: Forewings are dark greyish-brown mixed reddish-brown, towards base and termen. There are several white defused cross-bands, and black markings in the mid-wing
Distribution:  (First record: 1 June 1963 at Beeley Moor )  –  (Last record: 6 May 2025 at Bray Clough )  –  Likely locally uncommon on heather moorland occurring at high altitudes. No doubt on the moors of Derbyshire but under recorded – a record from Birch Vale 30/5/2021 and from Bray Clough 6/5/2025
Flight Period: May /  June /  –  Flies in sunshine over the moorlands in May & June Moth Activity: Diurnal  Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Jane Hewitt; Christian Heintzen  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 24 August 2025 by TD ***
Wingspan: 13-17mm
Food Plant: Heather
Last Recorded Year: 2025
First Recorded Year: 1963
Last Recorded By – Christian Heintzen
Last Recorded General Area – Bray Clough

IMAGES BELOW:  

Birch Vale – (2021) -Jane Hewitt©; Bray Clough (2025) – Christian Heintzen©

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Distribution Map for Prolita sexpunctella

Found 4 records
    ↳ 1 from After 2025
    ↳ 1 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 2 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 – Prolita sexpunctella

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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.

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Monthly Records By Year: Prolita sexpunctella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Prolita sexpunctella
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: Prolita sexpunctella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Prolita sexpunctella
AGR: 13.18%   |   Total % Change: 400%


CUSUM Analysis: Prolita sexpunctella
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 23 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 2025, 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: Prolita sexpunctella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Prolita sexpunctella
( 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 - Prolita sexpunctella – 4 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Prolita sexpunctellaGlossop, Black MoorSK09R202506/05/20255adultvc57_irecords_extract
Prolita sexpunctellaBirch ValeSK08I202130/05/20211Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Prolita sexpunctellaAxe Edge Moor, BuxtonSK06J201219/06/20121Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Prolita sexpunctellaSlagmill Plantataion, Beeley MoorSK36E196301/06/19631Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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