14.006 BF270  –  Bucculatricidae – Bucculatrix frangutella – Buckthorn Tuft – (Goeze, 1783) Adult Micro:  CAT 2 – Can be confused with other 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
General Comment: None
Flight Period: June /  July Mine Period:  August /  September
Mine Period Additional: 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.
Mine ID Difficulty: Not Recorded
Mine Type/s: Not Recorded
Mine Feeding Method/s: Not Recorded
Mine Comment: None.
Moth Activity: Cathemeral  Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Steve Orridge  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 2 October 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

Selected Images:  

Rose End Meadows (2009) – Steve Orridge©



Distribution Map for Bucculatrix frangutella

Found 8 records
    ↳ from 2026+
    ↳ from 2020 - 2025
    ↳ 8 from Before 2020
Flying
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Mining
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

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.

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.


NBN Atlas UK Distribution for – Bucculatrix frangutella

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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.

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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

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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%

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 2020-2026.

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 2020-2026.

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

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

Site NameTetradDateCountStageSource
Cromford, Matlock DE, UKSK25Y16/10/20091Larvavc57_irecords_extract
Rose End MeadowSK25Y16/10/20091minevc57_irecords_extract
Hopton Wood NR, CromfordSK25T16/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Coombs Dale,Stoney MiddletonSK27H12/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Via Gellia,CromfordSK25T07/06/20065Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Cressbrook Dale, Little LongstoneSK17R20/07/19961Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Cressbrook Dale, TideswellSK17R20/07/199620Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Cressbrook Dale (Botanical Acre), Little LongstoneSK17R28/06/19861Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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