70.211 BF1889  –  Geometridae –  Ennominae – Macaria notata – The Peacock Moth – (Linnaeus, 1758) Adult Macro:  CAT 2 – Can be confused with other species – Can be confused with other species       PDF Icon – click for Adult Macro Verification Guidelines

Brown –  Significant Record / Very Rare / Vagrant    
Taxonomy:   Macro   >>  Geometridae  >> Ennominae
ID Difficulty:  green  – easy to identify, generally distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other species.
ID pointers: Fairly distinctive. The black “paw-print” mark, just off centre within the forewing, the reddish-brown triangular shaped blotches on the costa, a strongly pointed hind-wing and pale wavy cross-lines, help to ID this species.
Distribution:  (First record: 7 August 2004 )  –  (Last record: 26 May 2024 at Stonebroom )  –  Extremely rare and current status unknown- Latest record is of one recorded at Stonebroom on 15th May 2024 by John Bradley, and likely re-trapped again on 26/5/2024. Prior to this one trapped in Findern on 23rd June 2023. It remains a very rare species in the county. Previously only 1 record from Shipley Park 7th August 2004.
Flight Period: May /  June /  July /  August /  –  Late May – early July & late July – August Moth Activity: Nocturnal  Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: John Bradley, Brian Hallam  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 21 July 2025 by WS ***
Wingspan: 28-32mm
Forewing: 14-16mm
Food Plant: Birch.
Last Recorded Year: 2024
First Recorded Year: 2004
Last Recorded By – John Bradley
Last Recorded General Area – Stonebroom

IMAGES BELOW:  Images by John Bradley © – Stonebroom 15th May 2024  /  Brian Hallam © – Findern 23rd June 2023.

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Distribution Map for Macaria notata

Found 5 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 3 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 2 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 – Macaria notata

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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: Macaria notata
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Macaria notata
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 23 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 2003, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2003, 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: Macaria notata
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Macaria notata
( 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 - Macaria notata – 5 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Macaria notataStonebroomSK45E202416/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Macaria notataStonebroomSK45E202426/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Macaria notataFindern GardenSK33A202323/06/20231Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Macaria notataThe Field,Shipley,IlkestonSK44M200307/08/20031Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Macaria notataThe Field,Shipley,IlkestonSK44M200307/08/20031Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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