70.268 BF1944 - Pale Oak Beauty - Geometridae - Hypomecis punctinalis

70.268 BF1944 – Geometridae – Larentiinae – Hypomecis punctinalis – Pale Oak Beauty

Adult Macro: CAT 2 – Can be confused with other species –

– click for Adult Macro Verification Guidelines

– Significant Record / Very Rare / Vagrant

Taxonomy: Macro >> . . >> Geometridae >> Larentiinae

ID Difficulty: amber

– care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species: Great Oak Beauty

ID pointers: A plainer looking moth than Great Oak Beauty and identified by the dark central spot on hind wing, which is pale-centred. The forewing is grey or grey-brown, finely speckled. Most noticeable markings are a fine, scalloped, dark outer central cross-line and a thickened, often broken, wavy whitish cross-line near the outer edge and is sometimes dark edged.

Distribution: (First record: 1992 ) – (Last record: 30 June 2025 at Darwin Forest ) – Uncertain, but very rare, first recorded in Derbyshire in 1992. One attracted to a garden light trap at Kirk Langley on 13th May 2024 by Brian Hobby, is the first record since 1992. Another individual was recorded by Sid Morris on 26th June 2024 at Markham Vale. One from Darwin Forest, Matlock 30/6/2025.

Flight Period: May / June / July / – May – July

Moth Activity: Nocturnal

*** Last updated on 3 July 2025 by TD ***

✉️ Send Moth Page Feedback

Wingspan: 46-55mm
Forewing: 22-26mm

Food Plant: Oak (Quercus), Birch (Betula) and other trees.

Last Recorded Year: 2025

First Recorded Year: 1992

Last Recorded By – Dave Evans

Last Recorded General Area – Darwin Forest

IMAGES BELOW: Kirk Langley 13th May 2024 – Brian Hobby © / 26/6/24 Markham Vale – Sid Morris © / Darwin Forest 30th June 2025 – Dave Evans©

Pale Oak Beauty – Brian Hobby

Pale Oak Beauty – Sid Morris

Pale Oak Beauty – 30th June 2025 -Darwin Forest – Dave Evans

Pale Oak Beauty - 30th June 2025 -Darwin Forest - Dave Evans

Pale Oak Beauty - Markham Vale - Sid Morris

Pale Oak Beauty - Brian Hobby

Distribution Map for Hypomecis punctinalis

derbyshiremoths.org © makes no guarantee of accuracy of data used in these maps and charts – they are presented to you with best endeavours and the data behind them updated periodically as time permits. Historic records are being discovered all the time. These will be assessed, so once they are all verified, they will be incorporated onto the map and charts.

Found 3 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 2 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.

Monthly Records By Year: Hypomecis punctinalis

Monthly Counts By Year: Hypomecis punctinalis

Recordings By Year: Hypomecis punctinalis

Hypomecis punctinalis

Insufficient records/data for a trend analysis

Years Analysed: 2000 – 2024

Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Hypomecis punctinalis

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Hypomecis punctinalis

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 - Hypomecis punctinalis – 3 records available

Listed by Year - descending

Taxon	Site Name	Tetrad	Year	Date	Count	Stage
Hypomecis punctinalis	Markham Vale South Tip	SK47K	2024	26/06/2024	1	adult
Hypomecis punctinalis	Ilkeston, Derbyshire	SK44K	2024	09/05/2024	1	adult
Hypomecis punctinalis	Far Cross,Cavendish Park,Matlock	SK36A	1992	30/05/1992	1	Adult