Aethes cnicana
Thistle Conch
Wingspan 14 to 17 mm. The adults of this species generally have a slightly glossy appearance to the forewings.
Around rough grassland areas containing thistle the larval foodplant.
The adults are on the wing in June and July and are often attracted to light.
Various species of thistle form the foodplant, where the larvae devour the seeds before entering the stem where they pupate.
Widely distributed and fairly common over most of the British Isles. In the Butterfly Conservation’s Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as common.
It appears to be uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland, where there are few records. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded).
Mark Skevington
Charnwood Lodge
03 June 2011
Margaret McLoughlin
Charnwood Lodge NNR
05 July 2017
Margaret McLoughlin
Charnwood Lodge NNR
05 July 2017
Dave Gamble
Leicester Forest East garden
17 June 2021
Dave Gamble
Leicester Forest East garden
17 June 2021
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Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
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Species profile
- Common names
- Thistle Conch
- Species group:
- Moths
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
- Order:
- Lepidoptera
- Family:
- Tortricidae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 4
- First record:
- 03/06/2011 (Skevington, Mark)
- Last record:
- 21/06/2022 (Cranston, Elspeth)
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% of records within its species group
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