14.006 BF270  –  Bucculatricidae – Bucculatrix frangutella – Buckthorn Tuft – (Goeze, 1783) Adult Micro:  CAT 2 – Confusion Species –       Leaf-miner:  CAT L – The leaf or a Photo required – reared and possibly dissected       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Black – Uncertain/Unknown – Insufficient Data        purple – Leaf Miner
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Bucculatricidae
Other Name/s: Buckthorn Bent-wing
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Bucculatrix albedinella
ID pointers: No information at this time
Distribution:  (Last record: 26 February 2025 at Cressbrook Dale )  –  Only one record from Cressbrook Dale 28th June 1986
Flight Period: June /  July /  Mine Period: August /  September /   – Very distinctive purplish or violet spiral mines in the leaves of the foodplants. After the initial mining of the leaf, the larvae then feed externally on the underside of the leaves. Moth Activity: Cathemeral  Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Steve Orridge  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 7-8mm
Food Plant: Buckthorn; Alder Buckthorn
Last Recorded Year: 1986
Last Recorded By – Not Recorded
Last Recorded General Area – Cressbrook Dale

IMAGES BELOW:  

Rose End Meadows (2009) – Steve Orridge©

no images were found

Distribution Map for Bucculatrix frangutella

Found 8 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 0 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 8 from Before 2020

If the Map Layers function fails, just refresh the page and it should be OK after. Use the +- zoom on the top left, or on a tablet, use two fingers to zoom. Remember, the last layer you ticked is the one which displays the popup information - they sit on top of each other - de-select then re-select, to see the popup values.

******* Choose ONLY one at a time, of either Monad, Tetrad or Hectad Distribution - each has it's own set of data. Also, the distribution maps cover ALL recorded data. *******

Bedrock Geology ** indirectly affects moth distribution by influencing the type of habitat and food plants available in an area. In turn, this may affect the types of moths that can thrive, or where they can most likely be found.

Land-cover * shows the variety of land-cover within the VC57 area, based on the CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment) forty-four thematic classes of land-cover. This will show, to a greater or lesser degree, the number and variety of moths found in different land-cover types. The UK continues to operate within the Copernicus programme, with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) providing Corine Land Cover (CLC) datasets for the UK and its territories.


NBN Atlas UK Distribution for – Bucculatrix frangutella

⚠️ Please wait for the map to load fully – do not click the link shown.


Note – the NBN Atlas datasets are listed in the map below and vary in their currency (uptodateness) – however, the map does give a general indication of the moth's distribution across the UK.

Visit NBN Site


Monthly Records By Year: Bucculatrix frangutella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
No data returned from the database.

Monthly Counts By Year: Bucculatrix frangutella
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only. )


First/Last Recorded Dates: Bucculatrix frangutella
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]

Shading shows moth presence between dates

Click the colour discs below to Select/De-select as Required

Recordings By Year: Bucculatrix frangutella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Bucculatrix frangutella
AGR: -41.52%   |   Total % Change: -80%


CUSUM Analysis: Bucculatrix frangutella
About this chart: CUSUM (Cumulative Sum) charts track long-term trends in moth populations [ filtered by 'Adult' and 'Mine' life stages ] by showing whether each year’s counts are above or below the historical average. Even small shifts build up over time, making trends of growth, stability, or decline easier to see. CUSUM highlights trend-consistency — asking: “Across the years, have moth counts mostly stayed above or below average?”
The data sample has 24 gap year/s here (zero records) between 2000 and 2025. The moth may have been present in those gap years, but no data was available. Too many year-gaps may exaggerate or skew the chart.

Counts for the current year (2025) are pro-rated based on data available up to month 7 (July) to provide a full-year equivalent.

Purple line rises = years better than average; falls = years worse than average.
Peak (best year) Trough (worst year) Growth periods Decline periods
Population peaked around 2006, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2009, showing a significant decline.

What the Y-axis "Cumulative Deviation" means: Cumulative Deviation shows the running total of how each year’s moth population count differs from the long-term average. i

Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Bucculatrix frangutella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Bucculatrix frangutella
( data includes Adult Stage only )

Flight Period chart – the grey hatched area above, which can cross one or more months, pictorially represents the best guess we have for this moth's flight periods [month/s]. The coloured lines represent the actual months seen in flight, from site observation records received between 2020-2025.

Mine Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Bucculatrix frangutella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Mine Period chart – the grey hatched area above, which can cross one or more months, pictorially represents the best guess we have for this moth's mine periods [month/s]. The coloured lines represent the actual months seen mining, from site observation records received between 2020-2025.

Records Behind the Map and Charts - Bucculatrix frangutella – 8 records available

Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Bucculatrix frangutellaCromford, Matlock DE, UKSK25Y200916/10/20091Larvavc57_irecords_extract
Bucculatrix frangutellaRose End MeadowSK25Y200916/10/20091minevc57_irecords_extract
Bucculatrix frangutellaHopton Wood NR, CromfordSK25T200916/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Bucculatrix frangutellaCoombs Dale,Stoney MiddletonSK27H200912/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Bucculatrix frangutellaVia Gellia,CromfordSK25T200607/06/20065Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Bucculatrix frangutellaCressbrook Dale, Little LongstoneSK17R199620/07/19961Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Bucculatrix frangutellaCressbrook Dale, TideswellSK17R199620/07/199620Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Bucculatrix frangutellaCressbrook Dale (Botanical Acre), Little LongstoneSK17R198628/06/19861Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

Scroll to Top