Speckled Footman (Coscinia cribraria subsp. bivittata)
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: | Coscinia cribraria bivittata |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (South, 1900) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | Only this subspecies is a resident in UK |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | GB Red List (Fox et al. 2019): CR. Was considered extinct by some until a breakthrough in understanding the autecology in 2023 enabled more targeted surveys to confirm that it is still resident at two sites. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Requires a very specific micro-habitat within heathland that is not created by general heathland 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: | See Q2 |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | A breakthrough in understanding the ecology was made in 2023 but further research is needed to understand exactly what the key factors are preventing colonisation of adjacent heathland. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Recent advances in understanding the larval ecology has demonstrated the importance of bushy Cladonia lichens, however larvae will eat others plants including Bristle Bent and it is not clear whether Cladonia is essential for early instars. Further work is needed to resolve this.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: New Forest, Wareham Forest
Comments: Considerable progress was made on the larval ecology in 2023 but there is still a need to determine the limiting factor preventing the species from colonising nearby land with apparently similar habitat.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Once action 1 is complete, carry out experimental management to create additional habitat.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat creation
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Wareham Forest
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.