Grapholita internana - 13th May 2025 - Markham Vale North Tip - Mark Radford
49.349 BF 1242  – White-underwing Piercer  – Grapholita internana  – (Guenée, 1845)
Adult Micro:  CAT 2 – Can be confused with other species –      
PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Blue –  Generally Common / Widespread   
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Tortricidae  >> Olethreutinae
Other Name/s: Dark Gorse Piecer; Cydia internana
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Grapholita compositella (Meadow Tortrix);Grapholita jungiella (Beautiful Crescent)
ID pointers: This tiny moth has white hind wings which are obvious in flight. A dark greyish/brownish moth with a dorsal patch at about half way represented by two white curved cream lines which extend into the mid hind wing and a number of whitish/silvery streaks along the costa.
Distribution:  Harrison & Sterling last record was Monk Wood June 1983; two DaNES records 4/5/2011 Wirksworth ; 15/5/2019 Shirebrook Valley. The discovery of hundreds flying over an extensive area of gorse bushes at markham Vale North Tip on 13th may 2025, would indicate this species is common where its food plant exists?
General Comment: None
Flight Period: April /  May /  June –  Fly around Gorse bushes during the day Moth Activity: Cathemeral  Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Mark Radford  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 9-10mm
Food Plant: Gorse
Specific Recorded History Dates for Common [Blue code Blue-coded] moths is not displayed/updated in this tab. However, all verified records for this moth are listed in the RECORDS tab below.

Selected Images:  

Markham Vale – 13/5/2025 – Mark Radford©



Temporal Distribution Chart
Adults: (between 2011 - 2025)
(click legend below to show/hide datasets)
This chart summarises all available historical occurrence records collated by ISO week of the year. It reflects recorder effort and sampling distribution as well as true biological activity, and should be interpreted as an indicative pattern of seasonal occurrence rather than a statistically controlled abundance or phenology model.

Distribution Map for Grapholita internana

Found 2 records
    ↳ from 2026+
    ↳ 1 from 2020 - 2025
    ↳ 1 from Before 2020
Flying
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

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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 – Grapholita internana

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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: Grapholita internana
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Monthly Counts By Year: Grapholita internana
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only )

First/Last Recorded Dates: Grapholita internana
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]

Shading shows moth presence between dates

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Recordings By Year: Grapholita internana
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Grapholita internana
AGR: 48.35%   |   Total % Change: 24900%

Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Grapholita internana
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Grapholita internana

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 2020-2026.

Records Behind the Map and Charts - Grapholita internana – 2 records available

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

Site Name Tetrad Date Count Stage Recorder Source RecordKey
Markham Vale North Tip SK47L 13/05/2025 250 adult Radford, Mark vc57_irecords_extract iBRC41552963
Alport Height,Wirksworth SK35A 04/05/2011 1 Adult K.R. Huston vc57_danes_bc_data LC000334001CP6UE

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