Banded Ivy Tortrix Clepsis dumicolana

First found in London in 2014 and now (as at 2026) found across London and in most of the Home Counties. Presumably it will continue to spread over the coming years.

I was waiting for a train after a day seeing friends in London, sat on the Canalside Green Steps at London's Coal Drop Yard, when my wife noticed some insects flitting around the ivy at the edge of the steps. I think she regretted telling me when I went over to investigate, finding several pairs of a distinctive tortrix moth that I did not immediately recognise. They reminded me of Rose Tortrix Archips rosana, as well as of Dark-barred Tortrix Syndemis musculana, but they clearly weren't either of those species or anything else I was familiar with. It quickly became clear that they were the new colonist Banded Ivy Tortrix Clepsis dumitana, a species which I was only really aware of thanks to some social media posts about it.

pair of Banded Ivy Tortrix Clepsis dumicolana, Coal Drop Yard (Greater London, UK), 30th May 2026