63.046 BF1403a  –  Crambidae –  Spilomelinae – Duponchelia fovealis – European Pepper Moth – (Zeller, 1847) 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   >>  Crambidae  >> Spilomelinae
Other Name/s: Dark Marbled Tabby
ID Difficulty:  green  – easy to identify, generally distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other species.
ID pointers: A pyralid that is marked very similarly to Mother Shipton Moth. Within the outer cross-line there is an obvious finger that points towards the outer edge of the wing. Sits with the tip of the abdomen pointing upwards. The abdomen is also marked with three dark bands and four thin pale whitish-cream bands. Forewings marked with various shades of brown being darker at the wing tips.
Distribution:  (Last record: 8 August 2025 at Littleover, Derby )  –  This is the second Derbyshire record, the first being recorded at Glapwell, near Bolsover, in 2010. It is an adventive species, which is generally thought to be imported into the country with cultivated plants. First recorded indoors in 1996. It is an endemic of the Mediterranean region and the Canary Islands, but is rapidly expanding its range.
Flight Period: May /  June /  –  Usually occurs during May – June. Moth Activity: Nocturnal  Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Paul Buxton, Adrian Watson  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 10 September 2025 by TD ***
Wingspan: c.20mm
Food Plant: Cultivated plants.
Last Recorded Year: 2025
Last Recorded By – Adrian Watson
Last Recorded General Area – Littleover, Derby

IMAGES BELOW:  Long Eaton, Derbyshire – Paul Buxton© / Littleover – Adrian Watson©

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Distribution Map for Duponchelia fovealis

Found 5 records
    ↳ 1 from After 2025
    ↳ 3 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 1 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 – Duponchelia fovealis

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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: Duponchelia fovealis
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Duponchelia fovealis
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 21 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: Duponchelia fovealis
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Duponchelia fovealis
( 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 - Duponchelia fovealis – 5 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Duponchelia fovealisDE, DerbySK33I202508/08/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Duponchelia fovealisSouth YorkshireSK38L202410/03/20241Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Duponchelia fovealisFindern, Derbyshire, DEAZSK33A202210/08/20221adultvc57_irecords_extract
Duponchelia fovealisDouglas Rd, Long EatonSK43S202026/08/20201AdultDanes_2019-2021
Duponchelia fovealisBack Lane,GlapwellSK46T201001/09/20101Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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