45.041 BF1500  –  Pterophoridae –  Pterophorinae – Hellinsia osteodactylus – Small Goldenrod Plume – (Zeller, 1841) Adult Micro:  CAT 2 – Confusion Species –       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Green –  Rare / Uncommon / Scarce   
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Pterophoridae  >> Pterophorinae
Other Name/s: leioptilus osteodactylus
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
ID pointers: Yellowish-white to bright yellow. The lobe has a small brown costal dash and a spot at the base of the wing cleft which is sometimes indistinct.
Distribution:  (Last record: 17 July 2024 at Birch Vale )  –  Appears to be a scarce species in Derbyshire, but probably locally common where there is Goldenrod. Only a handful of records
Flight Period: July /  August /  –  On the wing July – August. Moth Activity: Nocturnal  Crepuscular   – and is attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Tony Davison, Will Soar  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 16-23mm
Food Plant: Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) and Ragwort (Senecio).
Last Recorded By – Jane Hewitt
Last Recorded General Area – Birch Vale

Selected Images:  Melbourne, Derbyshire – Tony Davison© – Kings Newton, Derbyshire – Will Soar©



Distribution Map for Hellinsia osteodactylus

Found 18 records
    ↳ 7 from After 2025
    ↳ 4 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 7 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 – Hellinsia osteodactylus

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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: Hellinsia osteodactylus
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Hellinsia osteodactylus
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: Hellinsia osteodactylus
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Hellinsia osteodactylus
AGR: 4.09%   |   Total % Change: 114.3%


CUSUM Analysis: Hellinsia osteodactylus
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 17 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 8 (August) 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 2020, 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: Hellinsia osteodactylus
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Hellinsia osteodactylus
( 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 - Hellinsia osteodactylus – 18 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Staveley DerbyshireSK47H06/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Littleover, DerbySK33G01/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Markham Vale South Tip DerbyshireSK47K14/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
LittleoverSK33G11/07/20254adultvc57_irecords_extract
LittleoverSK33G12/07/20252adultvc57_irecords_extract
Markham Vale South TipSK47K17/07/20253adultvc57_irecords_extract
Markham Vale South Tip , DerbyshireSK47K24/07/20253adultvc57_irecords_extract
Birch ValeSK08I17/07/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Staveley DerbyshireSK47H19/07/20221adultvc57_irecords_extract
Birch ValeSK08I18/07/20215Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Melbourne, DerbyshireSK32X07/08/20201adultvc57_irecords_extract
Back Lane, GlapwellSK46T15/07/20191adultDanes_2019-2021
Bristol Rd,IlkestonSK44R20/07/20091Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Bristol Rd,IlkestonSK44R08/08/20071Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Quaker Cottage,Low Leighton,New MillsSK08C22/07/20061Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Hopton Wood, CromfordSK25T16/07/199712Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Hopton Wood Quarry NRSK25M04/07/19941Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Hopton Wood Quarry (site not precise)SK25M08/07/19921Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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