49.080 BF1053  –  Tortricidae –  Tortricinae – Acleris hastiana – Varied Tortrix – (Linnaeus, 1758) Adult Micro:  CAT 2 – Confusion Species –       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Brown –  Significant Record / Very Rare / Vagrant    
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Tortricidae  >> Tortricinae
Other Name/s: Sallow Button
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Acleris cristana
ID pointers: Perhaps the most varied of British tortrix moths. Can be confused with A.cristana which has a more concave forewing costa and two prominent scale tufts. The forewing costa is strongly curved from the base and coarsely fringed with scales. A scale tuft near mid-wing. Other scale tufts can be visible near the wing base and near the tornus, but these can disappear with wear. Usually three patterned types – 1) Uniform in colour and appearance 2) longitudinal markings typically stripes from wing base to apex 3) transverse markings, often as a crossband.
Distribution:  (First record: 1975 )  –  (Last record: 24 December 2024 at Long Clough )  –  Very few Derbyshire records, so status is uncertain/ Rare. Records that do exist are widespread across the county.
Flight Period: June /  July /  August /  –  Two generations then the adults hibernate to reappear in the spring. Flys at dusk and comes to light Moth Activity: Cathemeral   – and is attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Christian Heintzen / Don Cambridge / Matt Leedell  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 26 July 2025 by TD ***
Wingspan: 20mm
Food Plant: Small leaved willows (salix spp)
Last Recorded Year: 2024
First Recorded Year: 1975
Last Recorded By – Christian Heintzen
Last Recorded General Area – Long Clough

IMAGES BELOW:  24/12/2024 – Long Clough – Christian Heintzen©  / 12/1/2024 – Markham Vale – Don Cambridge© / Pride Park 6/3/25 – Matt Leedell©

Distribution Map for Acleris hastiana

Found 17 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 10 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 7 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 – Acleris hastiana

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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: Acleris hastiana
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Acleris hastiana
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: Acleris hastiana
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Acleris hastiana
AGR: -2.56%   |   Total % Change: -38.9%


CUSUM Analysis: Acleris hastiana
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 18 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 2010, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2022, 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: Acleris hastiana
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Acleris hastiana
( 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 - Acleris hastiana – 17 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Acleris hastianaStaveley DerbyshireSK47H202424/12/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaDerbyshire Wild Life Trust Long CloughSK09G202424/12/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaStaveley DerbyshireSK47H202428/10/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaWest Park Fox Covert LNRSK43W202406/09/20243adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaForbes Hole LNRSK43W202421/08/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaMarkham Vale South TipSK47K202406/03/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaMarkham Vale DerbyshireSK47K202406/03/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaMarkham Vale North tipSK47L202412/01/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaMarkham Vale North tip , DerbyshireSK47L202412/01/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaWoodland AveSK43R202215/06/20221Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaToton Fields LNRSK43X201801/09/20181adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris hastianaDrakelow NR,Burton on TrentSK22F201329/12/20131Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Acleris hastianaPleasley NR (Pit Head)SK46X201215/11/20121Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Acleris hastianaWood Lane,Newhall,SwadlincoteSK22V201008/10/20101Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Acleris hastianaDrakelow NR (fen area), Burton on TrentSK22F201009/04/20102Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Acleris hastianaMidway Rd,Midway,SwadlincoteSK32A200601/07/20061Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Acleris hastianaPleasley Park (centre clearing)SK56H200504/10/20052Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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