15.005 BF283  –  Gracillariidae –  Gracillariinae – Caloptilia betulicola – Birch Stilt – (Hering, 1928) Adult Micro:  CAT 4 – Gen. Det. Required – Gen-Det-Reqd       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
Green –  Rare / Uncommon / Scarce        purple – Leaf Miner
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Gracillariidae  >> Gracillariinae
Other Name/s: Red Birch Slender
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Caloptilia elongella (Alder Stilt) Caloptilia rufipennella (Rufous Stilt)
ID pointers: Another plain orange-brown Caloptilia and easily confused with C. elongella, with variable darker markings of orange or brown on the forewing.
Distribution:  (Last record: 5 March 2025 at Breaston )  –  Generally uncommon with only a few records – maybe under recorded and should perhaps be more reported due to amount of Birch in the recording area.
Flight Period: June /  July /  September /  October /  –  Two generations, June – July and September- October when it hibernates reappearing the following spring Mine Period: July /  September /  November /   – The larvae mine the leaves of Birch then in a folded or rolled up leaf Moth Activity: Cathemeral  Photographed: No –  Photographed By: Not Recorded
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 14-16mm
Food Plant: Birch
Last Recorded Year: 2022
Last Recorded By – Steve Thorpe
Last Recorded General Area – Breaston

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Distribution Map for Caloptilia betulicola

Found 11 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 2 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 9 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 – Caloptilia betulicola

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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: Caloptilia betulicola
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Caloptilia betulicola
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: Caloptilia betulicola
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Caloptilia betulicola
AGR: 0%   |   Total % Change: 0%


CUSUM Analysis: Caloptilia betulicola
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 21 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 2004, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2004, 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: Caloptilia betulicola
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Caloptilia betulicola
( 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
Caloptilia betulicola
( 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 - Caloptilia betulicola – 11 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Caloptilia betulicolaWoodland AveSK43R202219/07/20221Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia betulicolaWoodland AveSK43R202217/06/20221Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia betulicolaMillstone EdgeSK28K201817/08/20181pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia betulicolaLongshaw Estate and Padley GorgeSK27P201718/07/20171pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia betulicolaBlacka Moor and PlantationSK28V201527/06/20151pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia betulicolaAllestree Park, Allestree, DerbySK33P201414/03/20141Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Caloptilia betulicolaBackgarden MarehaySK34Z201320/04/20131adultvc57_irecords_extract
Caloptilia betulicolaSlippery Stones,Upper DerwentSK19S201025/08/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Caloptilia betulicolaPadley Gorge, Nether PadleySK27P201019/08/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Caloptilia betulicolaEdgecote Drive,Newhall,SwadlincoteSK22V200430/07/20041Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Caloptilia betulicolaCrich Chase, Ambergate (site not precise)SK35L199416/04/19941Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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