Straw Belle (Aspitates gilvaria)
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: | Aspitates gilvaria gilvaria, Aspitates gilvaria subsp. gilvaria |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Aspitates gilvaria |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | in s41 as Aspitates gilvaria subsp. gilvaria which is the sole subspecies in UK |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | GB Red List (Fox et al. 2019): EN. Continues to be lost from sites and probably only in 7 ten km squares now. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Recent losses demonstrate clearly that general management of chalk downland sites is unsuitable for this species. |
| 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: | See Q2 |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake research to better understand larval requirements and to determine whether this and other threatened species can be catered for in the same microhabitat.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Work with land managers and partners to reduce grazing pressure on over-grazed sites, particularly during drought years.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Pressure mitigation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Undertake scrub clearance and reintroduce light grazing at neglected sites. This will include identification and restoring sites with potential for (re)colonisation through an initial desk-based research followed by a practical, field-based study dependent on findings.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 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.