49.366 BF1225 – Birch Catkin Tortrix – Pammene obscurana – (Stephens, 1834)
Adult Micro: CAT 4 – Dissection required – 
– click for General Verification Guidelines | – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Verification Notes: Requires Gen Det to determine species
– click for General Verification Guidelines | – click for Specific Verification Guidelines Verification Notes: Requires Gen Det to determine species
– Significant Record / Very Rare / Vagrant 
– Day-flying
– difficult to identify – detailed examination required, often a Gen Det and/or specimen and quality photographs are required.Confusion Species: Pammene splendidulana
ID pointers: The forewings are dark purplish-brown or fuscous, marked with black. They have vague, pale costal streaks and an obscure ocellus edged with dull lead-metallic scales. The best ID feature is a subquadrate brownish-white dorsal patch/blotch, which usually has a central brown stripe. The hind-wings are pale grey-brown to dark fuscous. The males feature a characteristic elongate patch of dense, black androconial scales, along the basal half of the costa on the upper-side of the hind-wing.
Steve Hind has commented on the hindwing as follows :-
“Dissected the male Pammene obscurana from Steve Orridge’s garden on 25/5/2026. Note the elongate patch of black scales along the costa at the base on the upper-side of the hindwing, on the attached photo, which is also on P albuginana and P suspectana but not on P agnotana, in case you want to separate the two again.”
Steve Hind has commented on the hindwing as follows :-
“Dissected the male Pammene obscurana from Steve Orridge’s garden on 25/5/2026. Note the elongate patch of black scales along the costa at the base on the upper-side of the hindwing, on the attached photo, which is also on P albuginana and P suspectana but not on P agnotana, in case you want to separate the two again.”
Distribution: (First record: 25 May 2026 at Buxton ) – (Last record: 2026 at Buxton ) – A first record for VC57 Derbyshire. One attracted to a TIP pheromone lure at Buxton garden 25/5/2026 but found inside the light trap- The specimen was identified by Gen Det by Steve Hind.
General Comment: None *** Last updated on 8 June 2026 by RP ***
Last Recorded Year: 2026
First Recorded Year: 2026
Last Recorded By – Steve Orridge
Last Recorded General Area – Buxton
Images of Interest:
Image Gallery
Temporal Distribution Chart
Adults: (between 2026 - 2026)
(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 Pammene obscurana
Found 1 records
↳ 1 from 2026+
↳ from 2020 - 2025
↳ from Before 2020
↳ 1 from 2026+
↳ from 2020 - 2025
↳ from Before 2020
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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 – Pammene obscurana
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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.
Monthly Records By Year:
Pammene obscurana
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Monthly Counts By Year:
Pammene obscurana
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only )
First/Last Recorded Dates: Pammene obscurana
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]
Shading shows moth presence between dates
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Recordings By Year: Pammene obscurana
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Pammene obscurana
AGR: 0% | Total % Change: 0%
Pammene obscurana
Insufficient records/data for an AGR analysis
Years Analysed: 2000 – 2026
Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Pammene obscurana
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Pammene obscurana
Pammene obscurana
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 - Pammene obscurana – 1 records available
Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns
| Site Name | Tetrad | Date | Count | Stage | Recorder | Source | RecordKey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladycroft Ave, Buxton | SK07S | 25/05/2026 | 1 | adult | Orridge, Steve | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC53168358 |