White-spotted Sable (Anania funebris)
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: | Anania funebris |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Ström, 1768) |
| 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: | (No GB Red List for micro-moths.) Restricted range, found only in parts of south-east England and north-west England. Much declined historically with no indication of any recovery. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Specialist on Goldenrod in open woodland and on rough hillsides. Requires research and, at some sites, bespoke 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: | No |
| Justification: | Restricted distribution; unlikely to colonise newly-available breeding habitat in most cases. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Further research required to understand more about phenology and population dynamics, to improve monitoring and inform management. Requires adult and larval surveys from spring to autumn to help determine phenology across its English range and the best methods for status surveys.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Implement appropriate habitat management at all key sites, by providing advice to land managers. In woodland, requires regular ride/coppice management to maintain open conditions required. On open sites, grazing pressure needs to be maintained at a low level, alongside bracken and scrub cutting where appropriate.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Trial establishment of Goldenrod from seed and plug plants across a range of habitat conditions in open woodland, with and without initial ground preparation (e.g. rotavation), in order to determine the optimal requirements for successful plant establishment.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
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.