62.005 BF1426  –  Pyralidae –  Galleriinae – Achroia grisella – Lesser Wax Moth – (Fabricius, 1794) Adult Micro:  CAT 1 – Distinctive Species –       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Blue –  Generally Common / Widespread   
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Pyralidae  >> Galleriinae
ID Difficulty:  green  – easy to identify, generally distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other species.
ID pointers: Distinctive oval shaped at rest. Female larger than male. Head a golden yellow. Overall pale shining greyish yellow-brown to forewings, otherwise clean and unmarked.
Distribution:  Widely distributed and locally common across the county. On wax in bee hives.
Flight Period: June /  July /  August /  –  On the wing during June – August. Moth Activity: Nocturnal   – occasionally attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Paul Buxton  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 16-24mm
Food Plant: Bee-hives.
Recorded dates for Common [Blue code Blue-coded] moths are not stored on the website at this current time.

Selected Images:  Long Eaton, Derbyshire – Paul Buxton©



Distribution Map for Achroia grisella

Found 18 records
    ↳ 6 from After 2025
    ↳ 7 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 5 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 – Achroia grisella

⚠️ 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.

Visit NBN Site


Monthly Records By Year: Achroia grisella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Achroia grisella
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 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 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: Achroia grisella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Achroia grisella
( 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 - Achroia grisella – 18 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Derby DESK33I14/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Belper, DerbyshireSK34N15/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
BelperSK34N25/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Derby DESK33I18/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
upper cromford gardenSK25Y19/06/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Midway, Derbys.SK32A30/06/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Markham Vale South TipSK47K26/06/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Allestree, DerbySK33P21/06/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Allestree, DerbySK33P21/06/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Staveley DerbyshireSK47H05/09/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Woodland AveSK43R02/07/20211adultvc57_irecords_extract
Woodland AveSK43R08/04/20211adultvc57_irecords_extract
Woodland AveSK43R29/07/20201adultvc57_irecords_extract
Main Street, Kings NewtonSK32Y07/10/20131Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Rose Av,ClowneSK57D09/08/20101Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Bristol Rd,IlkestonSK44R06/10/20091Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Bristol Rd,IlkestonSK44R07/09/20091Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Shardlow Hall, Shardlow, DerbySK43F28/10/19712Larvaevc57_danes_bc_data

Scroll to Top