49.087 BF1061  –  Tortricidae –  Tortricinae – Acleris literana – Lichen Tortrix – (Linnaeus, 1758) Adult Micro:  CAT 1 – Distinctive Species –       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Green –  Rare / Uncommon / Scarce   
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Tortricidae  >> Tortricinae
Other Name/s: Lichen Button
ID Difficulty:  green  – easy to identify, generally distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other species.
ID pointers: A variable species, and many different forms have been described, but all have a combination of pale green ground colour with whitish and blackish markings, ranging in intensity of colour.
Distribution:  (Last record: 29 July 2024 at Mickleover )  –  A localised species throughout the county where there is oak woodland. With so few records of singles, appears to an uncommon moth in Derbyshire.
Flight Period: January /  February /  March /  April /  May /  August /  September /  October /  November /  December /  –  On the wing during August – May, overwintering as an adult. Moth Activity: Nocturnal   – and is attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Martin Roome  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 7 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 18-22mm
Food Plant: Oak (Quercus).
Last Recorded Year: 2024
Last Recorded By – Christine Maughan
Last Recorded General Area – Mickleover

IMAGES BELOW:  Chaddesden, Derbyshire – Martin Roome©

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Distribution Map for Acleris literana

Found 17 records
    ↳ 6 from After 2025
    ↳ 11 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 0 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 literana

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

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Acleris literana
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 22 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: Acleris literana
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Acleris literanaIlkeston, DerbyshireSK44K202523/04/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaGlossop, Hague Street, Hay MeadowSK09G202503/04/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaIlkeston, DerbyshireSK44K202521/03/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaLadycroft Ave, BuxtonSK07S202520/03/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaSandiacre GardenSK43T202521/03/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaSandiacre GardenSK43T202522/03/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaMickleover gardenSK33C202429/07/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaSandiacreSK43T202413/04/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaWoodland AveSK43R202417/03/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaBirch ValeSK08I202415/02/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaFindern, Derbyshire, DEAZSK33A202414/02/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaGlossop, Shawmoor PlantationSK09F202311/12/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaHathersage, Derbyshire, UKSK28F202316/04/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaSandiacreSK43T202314/04/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaUpper Cromford GardenSK25Y202317/03/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaGlossop, Gnat Hole Rough FieldsSK09L202321/02/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Acleris literanaHavercroft RoadSK38L202215/05/20221Adultvc57_irecords_extract

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