Forester (Adscita statices)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - moth > Moth |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Adscita statices |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | GB Red List (Fox et al. 2019): LC and no long-term trend data available, but there has been a major decline in recorded 10km squares across England since pre-1970 |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Habitat specialist species; populations are fragmented. Likely to respond well to targeted habitat management. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Some constraints with dispersal ability but has colonised recently-created habitat in NE England. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Short-term (2000-2016) distribution trend available but non-significant; would likely be more robust with better recording. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Annual monitoring for this species is currently at an early stage of development. Expand annual targeted monitoring to cover sufficient sites to enable production of an abundance trend, using the timed count method developed by Butterfly Conservation.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Aim to deliver this largely using volunteers.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Based on an example from Durham and an improved understanding of habitat preference, there is potential to implement habitat creation for this species. Trial habitat creation and establishment across sites, using appropriate seed mixes.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Target sites with potential for habitat creation that are close to existing sites.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Advise landowners of appropriate habitat management and confirm that this is implemented at key sites. Forester requires lighter grazing pressure than many other grassland species; generic habitat management of chalk grassland and marshy grassland may not be suitable for this species
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.