8.001 BF129  –  Incurvariidae –  Incurvariinae – Incurvaria pectinea – Pale Feathered Cutter – (Haworth, 1828) Adult Micro:  CAT 2 – Confusion Species –       Leaf-miner:  CAT L – The leaf or a Photo required – reared and possibly dissected       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Black – Uncertain/Unknown – Insufficient Data        purple – Leaf Miner     day-flying – Day-flying
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Incurvariidae  >> Incurvariinae
Other Name/s: Pale Feathered Leaf-cutter
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Incurvaria masculella
ID pointers: The larvae makes a ‘cut-out’ (small circular blotches) in the leaf which then falls to the ground, inside a case made from the cut-out. Initially a blotch mine is formed. Shown on Populus nigra (Black Poplar). More commonly found on Betula (Birch), Carpinus (Hornbeam), Malus (Apple) and Corylus (Hazel). Adults – Have comb-like pectinate antennae – dull grey-brown with a whitish spot on the dorsum about half way and a smaller more insignificant one near the tornus.
Distribution:  (Last record: 29 April 2024 at Longdendale )  –  National Status – Common, local in places – Derbyshire status unknown due to lack of data. Likely to be local where the food plants exist.
Flight Period: April /  May /  –  Spring flying in April-May Mine Period: May /  June /   – Mine – May – June. Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Dave Evans, Christian Heintzen  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 12-16mm
Food Plant: Birch, Hazel, Hornbeam and Apple.
Last Recorded Year: 2024
Last Recorded By – Christian Heintzen
Last Recorded General Area – Longdendale

IMAGES BELOW:  Dave Evans – October 3rd 2021 – Wyver Lane, Belper – Christian Heintzen – adult – 29/4/24 – Longdendale.

 

Distribution Map for Incurvaria pectinea

Found 13 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 3 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 10 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 – Incurvaria pectinea

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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: Incurvaria pectinea
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Incurvaria pectinea
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 22 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 2016, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2010, 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: Incurvaria pectinea
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Incurvaria pectinea
( 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.

Mine Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Incurvaria pectinea
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Mine 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 mine periods [month/s]. The coloured lines represent the actual months seen mining, from site observation records received between 2020-2025.

Records Behind the Map and Charts - Incurvaria pectinea – 13 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Longdendale, Wildboar CloughSK09U29/04/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Lady Canning's PlantationSK28R21/06/20211mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Lady Canning's PlantationSK28W24/08/20201pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Ramsley Moor and ReservoirSK27X08/07/201930pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Lady Canning's PlantationSK28W28/08/20171pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Beeley to RowsleySK26T27/07/201720pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Monsal Dale and Upper DaleSK17R14/10/201630mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Shillito WoodSK27X30/08/201650pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Cromford Moor and High Peak TrailSK25X05/06/20141pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Ladybower ResrSK18U03/09/20101Larval Feeding Signsvc57_danes_bc_data
Padley Gorge, Nether PadleySK27P19/08/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Beeley Moor, Beeley (site not precise)SK26Z19/05/19971Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Flash Lane,Beeley Moor (site not precise)SK26Z01/05/19931Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

 
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