12.048 BF200  –  Tineidae –  Tineinae – Psychoides filicivora – Common Fern Moth – (Meyrick, 1937) 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   >>  Tineidae  >> Tineinae
Other Name/s: Fern Smut
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  As adult – Monopsis obviella
ID pointers: A pale golden yellow head, with a dark brown forewing that has a purple-bronze sheen. An obvious pale dorsal spot.Three to four pale spots around the termen and the wings are heavily fringed.
Distribution:  (Last record: 31 December 2024 at Long Clough )  –  Appears to be locally common where Harts-tongue Fern is found. A number of colonies discovered at Clake Park & Long Clough – Mines and larvae observed.
General Comment: None
Flight Period: May /  June /  July /  August /  September /  October –  Extended generations thorughout the summer Mine Period: Not Recorded
Mine Period Additional: None.
Mine ID Difficulty: Not Recorded
Mine Type/s: Not Recorded
Mine Feeding Method/s: Not Recorded
Mine Comment: None.
Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Steve Orridge, Graham Finch, Christian Heintzen  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 10-12mm
Food Plant: ferns, especially soft shield-fern (Polystichum setiferum) and male-fern (Dropteris filix-mas), but are also found on Hartstongue (Phyllitis scolopendrium).
Last Recorded Year: 2024
Last Recorded By – Christian Heintzen
Last Recorded General Area – Long Clough

Selected Images:  Buxton, Derbyshire – Steve Orridge © / Larva and Sporangia mass – Calke Park – Graham Finch© / Long Clough – Christian Heintzen©

 
 


 

Distribution Map for Psychoides filicivora

Found 27 records
    ↳ 7 from After 2025
    ↳ 16 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 4 from Before 2020
Flying
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Mining
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 – Psychoides filicivora

⚠️ Please wait for the map to load fully – do not click the link shown.


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.

Visit NBN Site


Monthly Records By Year: Psychoides filicivora
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Psychoides filicivora
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: Psychoides filicivora
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Psychoides filicivora
AGR: 2.24%   |   Total % Change: 33.3%


CUSUM Analysis: Psychoides filicivora
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 18 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 9 (September) 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: Psychoides filicivora
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Psychoides filicivora
( 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
Psychoides filicivora
( 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 - Psychoides filicivora – 27 records available

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
sheffieldSK38M05/06/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
BelperSK34U30/05/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
upper cromford gardenSK25Y22/05/20253adultvc57_irecords_extract
upper cromford gardenSK25Y21/05/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
SheffieldSK38M20/05/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
SheffieldSK38M17/05/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Mbridge at Markham Vale North TipSK47L02/03/20253larvavc57_irecords_extract
Glossop, Gnat HoleSK09G31/12/20241Larvavc57_irecords_extract
Pottery WoodSK32G05/11/20241larvavc57_irecords_extract
upper cromford gardenSK25Y03/09/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
HathersageSK28F12/08/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
SandiacreSK43S11/08/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Glossop, Hague Street, Hay meadowSK09G06/06/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
upper cromford gardenSK25Y31/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
upper cromford gardenSK25Y02/05/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Bentinck Drive Clowne DerbyshireSK57C23/04/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Cromford Church, outer wallSK25Y28/12/20231mine (tenantvc57_irecords_extract
Castleton, Hope Valley S, UKSK18L15/04/20221Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Buxton SK, UKSK07S12/10/20211Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Buxton SK, UKSK07L08/06/20211Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Ladycroft Ave, BuxtonSK07S07/06/20211adultvc57_irecords_extract
Woodland AveSK43R21/11/20201adultvc57_irecords_extract
Not givenSK38M27/08/20201Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Shirland-Hallfieldgate LaneSK35Z04/09/20151Adultvc57_irecords_extract
George St,BelperSK34N14/09/20121Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Ticknall Limeyards,TicknallSK32R22/03/20102Larvaevc57_danes_bc_data
nr Lower Cliffe Farm, Strines Station, New MillsSJ98T15/03/20101Larvaevc57_danes_bc_data

 
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