62.062 BF1479  –  Pyralidae –  Phycitinae – Plodia interpunctella – Indian Meal moth – (Hübner, 1813) 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   >>  Pyralidae  >> Phycitinae
ID Difficulty:  green  – easy to identify, generally distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other species.
ID pointers: Quite distinctive and tri-coloured. A dark brown basal patch a central pale yellowish patch and the final two thirds of the forewing dark reddish or rusty-brown with several darker cross-lines running through it. Specimen trapped 20th August 2015.
Distribution:  An imported (adventive) and a potential pest on dried cereals. Found in food warehouses.
Flight Period: February /  March /  April /  May /  June /  July /  August /  September /  October /  November /  –  On the wing during February – November. Moth Activity: Nocturnal   – and is attracted to light Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Dave Evans  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 14-20mm
Food Plant: Cereals, grains, dried fruits, nuts and dried insect remains.
Last Recorded By – Not Recorded
Last Recorded General Area – Not Recorded

Selected Images:  Belper, Derbyshire – Dave Evans©



Distribution Map for Plodia interpunctella

Found 11 records
    ↳ 2 from After 2025
    ↳ 8 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 1 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 – Plodia interpunctella

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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: Plodia interpunctella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Plodia interpunctella
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 20 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: Plodia interpunctella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Plodia interpunctella
( 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 - Plodia interpunctella – 11 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
BelperSK34U12/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Belper, DerbyshireSK34N29/07/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Wingerworth, DerbyshireSK36Y07/10/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
DronfieldSK37P22/06/20241Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Sandiacre, DerbyshireSK43S05/04/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
QuarndonSK34F22/05/20231adultvc57_irecords_extract
Derbyshire, UKSK26Q22/12/20221Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Midway, Derbys.SK32A04/06/20211adultvc57_irecords_extract
Midway, Derbys.SK32A16/03/20211adultvc57_irecords_extract
Midway, Derbys.SK32A29/03/20211adultvc57_irecords_extract
Backgarden MarehaySK34Z07/06/20141adultvc57_irecords_extract

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