35.157 BF758  –  Gelechiidae –  Gelechiinae – Recurvaria leucatella – White-barred Apple Moth – (Clerck, 1759) Adult Micro:  CAT 1 – Distinctive Species –       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Brown –  Significant Record / Very Rare / Vagrant    
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Gelechiidae  >> Gelechiinae
Other Name/s: White-barred Groundling
ID Difficulty:  green  – easy to identify, generally distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other species.
ID pointers: Head white. A distinctive pied species with a blackish forewing and a broad white cross-band at one-quarter. A white tornal spot, with one near the costa and white speckling towards the apex.
Distribution:  (First record: 23 July 2013 at Burnaston, Derby )  –  (Last record: 3 July 2025 at Chaddesden, Derby )  –  First recorded in the County on 23/07/2013 at Burnaston per DaNES Journal 169. Very few records since. One in 2015 (DaNES Journal 169) Two more from Kings Newton in 2007 & 2020. One from Chaddesden 3/7/2025
Flight Period: June /  July /  August /  –  On the wing in Mid June – August Moth Activity: Nocturnal   – and is attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Will Soar, Neil Loverock  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 26 July 2025 by TD ***
Wingspan: 14-15mm
Food Plant: Hawthorn (Crataegus) or Apple (Malus).
Last Recorded Year: 2025
First Recorded Year: 2013
Last Recorded By – Neil Loverock
Last Recorded General Area – Chaddesden, Derby

IMAGES BELOW:  Kings Newton, Derbyshire – Will Soar© / Chaddesden 3/7/2025 – Neil Loverock©

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Distribution Map for Recurvaria leucatella

Found 7 records
    ↳ 3 from After 2025
    ↳ 2 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 – Recurvaria leucatella

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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: Recurvaria leucatella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Recurvaria leucatella
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 21 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 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: Recurvaria leucatella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Recurvaria leucatella
( 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 - Recurvaria leucatella – 7 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Recurvaria leucatellaChaddesden GardenSK33T202503/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Recurvaria leucatellaFindern, DerbyshireSK33A202511/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Recurvaria leucatellaLittleoverSK33G202512/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Recurvaria leucatellaKing's NewtonSK32Y202429/07/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Recurvaria leucatellaMain Street, Kings NewtonSK32Y202012/07/20201Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Recurvaria leucatellaBurnaston (Toyota Plant NR), DerbySK23V201320/07/20131Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Recurvaria leucatellaMain Street, Kings NewtonSK32Y200712/08/20071Adultvc57_irecords_extract

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