49.115 BF942  –  Tortricidae –  Tortricinae – Aethes piercei – Greater Marbled Straw – Obraztsov, 1952 Adult Micro:  CAT 3 – Very Rare/Scarce/Migrant/Adventive – confusion with leaf mines       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Black – Uncertain/Unknown – Insufficient Data   
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Tortricidae  >> Tortricinae
Other Name/s: Devil’s-bit Conch
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Aethes hartmanniana (Lesser Marbled Straw)
ID pointers: It is larger than A.hartmanniana, generally darker in colour, and the raised whitish spots do not combine to form striations as often as that species.
Distribution:  (Last record: 6 December 2010 at Biggin Dale )  –  Uncertain due to so few records. Easily confused with A. hartmanniana – Harrison & Sterling recorded in 1917 and from the dales but no dates. DaNES show 4 records one in 2007 from Bonsal Moor & 3 in 2010 from Biggin Dale: iRecord -One record under query from Deep Dale 1/6/2019.
Flight Period: June /  July /  –  One brood June-July Moth Activity: Nocturnal   – active from dusk into the night Photographed: No –  Photographed By: Not Recorded
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 15-24mm
Food Plant: Devil’s-bit Scabious
Last Recorded Year: 2010
Last Recorded By – D.Grundy (DaNES)
Last Recorded General Area – Biggin Dale

Selected Images:  



Distribution Map for Aethes piercei

Found 4 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 0 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 4 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 – Aethes piercei

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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: Aethes piercei
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
No data returned from the database.

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Aethes piercei
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]

Shading shows moth presence between dates

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Recordings By Year: Aethes piercei
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Aethes piercei
AGR: -47.72%   |   Total % Change: -85.7%


CUSUM Analysis: Aethes piercei
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 24 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 2007, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2010, 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: Aethes piercei
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Aethes piercei
( 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 - Aethes piercei – 4 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Biggin Dale, nr HartingtonSK15P12/06/20101Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Biggin Dale, nr HartingtonSK15P12/06/20101Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Biggin Dale, nr HartingtonSK15P12/06/20101Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Bonsall MoorSK25T01/06/20077Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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