– click for General Verification Guidelines | – click for Specific Verification Guidelines 
– Rare / Uncommon / Scarce
– care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required. Confusion Species: A. rubigana
ID pointers: Forewing is a creamy whitish, usually suffused with brownish-yellow and greyish. An orange-brown or reddish-brown angled cross-band at about one half and another more obscured towards the apex.
Distribution: (Last record: 20 June 2024 at Buxton ) – Although a nationally common species, this moth seems very scarce and localised across the county, favouring the north-west and found on Thistles.
General Comment: None *** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Last Recorded Year: 2024
Last Recorded By – Ian White
Last Recorded General Area – Buxton
Selected Images: Buxton, Derbyshire – Steve Orridge© / Belper – Dave Evans©
Image Gallery
No gallery images found for this moth.
Distribution Map for Aethes cnicana
Found 42 records
↳ 8 from After 2025
↳ 15 from 2020 - 2024
↳ 19 from Before 2020
↳ 8 from After 2025
↳ 15 from 2020 - 2024
↳ 19 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.
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 cnicana
⚠️ Please wait for the map to load fully – do not click the link shown.
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.
Monthly Records By Year:
Aethes cnicana
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Monthly Counts By Year: Aethes cnicana
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only. )
First/Last Recorded Dates: Aethes cnicana
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: Aethes cnicana
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Aethes cnicana
AGR: 2.23% | Total % Change: 62.5%
CUSUM Analysis: Aethes cnicana
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 10 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 10 (October) 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 2017, 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 cnicana
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Aethes cnicana
Aethes cnicana
( 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 cnicana – 42 records available
Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns
| Site Name | Tetrad | Date | Count | Stage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| upper cromford garden | SK25Y | 30/06/2025 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Cown Edge Farm marsh | SK09A | 30/06/2025 | 2 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Ladycroft Ave, Buxton | SK07S | 21/06/2025 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| upper cromford garden | SK25Y | 20/06/2025 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Buxton (w) | SK07R | 20/06/2025 | 2 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Cown Edge Farm marsh | SK09A | 17/06/2025 | 4 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Shirland - Hallfieldgate Lane | SK35Z | 12/06/2025 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Buxton (w) | SK07R | 30/05/2025 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Darley Bridge | SK26Q | 14/07/2024 | 1 | Adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Buxton (w) | SK07R | 20/06/2024 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Hollinsclough | SK06N | 17/06/2024 | 1 | Adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 20/06/2023 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Belper | SK34N | 14/06/2023 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 24/06/2022 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 21/06/2022 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 17/06/2022 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Ninelands Road | SK28F | 23/07/2021 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Hathersage, Derbyshire, UK | SK28F | 23/06/2021 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| BROWN LOW | SJ99V | 22/06/2021 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 16/06/2021 | 1 | Adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 23/06/2020 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 22/06/2020 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 15/06/2020 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Ladycroft Ave, Buxton | SK07S | 10/07/2019 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 17/06/2019 | 2 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Trowell Marsh LNR | SK43U | 07/07/2018 | 2 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Shirland - Hallfieldgate Lane | SK35Z | 06/07/2017 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Trent Lock | SK43V | 16/07/2016 | 2 | not recorded | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 22/06/2016 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Jim Mart Nature Reserve | SK36S | 09/07/2015 | 1 | Adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Birch Vale | SK08I | 09/07/2015 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Ladycroft Ave | SK07S | 05/07/2013 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Ladycroft Ave | SK07S | 21/06/2013 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| The Hollies,Station Rd,Darley Dale | SK26R | 04/07/2011 | 1 | Adult | vc57_danes_bc_data |
| Beeley Triangle, Beeley Moor, Beeley | SK26Y | 04/07/2011 | 1 | Adult | vc57_danes_bc_data |
| Dale Rd (grassland), Buxton | SK07R | 03/06/2011 | 1 | Adult | vc57_danes_bc_data |
| Biggin Dale, nr Hartington | SK15P | 06/07/2010 | 1 | Adult | vc57_danes_bc_data |
| Biggin Dale, nr Hartington | SK15P | 12/06/2010 | 1 | Adult | vc57_danes_bc_data |
| Midway, Derbys. | SK32A | 10/07/2009 | 1 | adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Midway Rd,Midway,Swadlincote | SK32A | 10/07/2009 | 1 | Adult | vc57_danes_bc_data |
| Calke Park Whimsey Field | SK32R | 06/07/2003 | 1 | Adult | vc57_irecords_extract |
| Cunning Dale, Buxton (site not precise) | SK07W | 07/07/1997 | 1 | Adult | vc57_danes_bc_data |