Phyllonorycter quercifoliella       Phyllonorycter platani
15.04 BF321  –  Gracillariidae –  Lithocolletinae – Phyllonorycter messaniella – Ilex Leaf-miner – (Zeller, 1846) 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
Blue –  Generally Common / Widespread        purple – Leaf Miner
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Gracillariidae  >> Lithocolletinae
Other Name/s: Garden Midget
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Phyllonorycter quercifoliella
ID pointers: Forewing shining pale golden brown with four dorsal and four costal whitish streaks. Inwardly edged dark brown. A fine whitish basal streak that barely meets the middle of the forewing is a good ID feature
Distribution:  Appears to be generally common as numerous records of the leaf-mines. Fairly common across the British Isles. Probably locally common in Oak, Beech or Sweet Chestnut Woodland.
Flight Period: January /  February /  March /  April /  May /  June /  July /  August /  September /  October /  November /  December /  –  On the wing all months of the year, more so in the south of England. Mine Period: March /  April /  July /  August /  September /  October /   – Can be found throughout the winter on Oak, Beech, Sweet Chestnut. Accepted if on Holm Oak otherwise needs to be reared. Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Tony Davison  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 7-9mm
 Food Plant: Oak,Beech,Sweet Chestnut
Recorded dates for Common [Blue code Blue-coded] moths are not stored on the website at this current time.
IMAGES BELOW:  Staunton Harold Reservoir, Derbyshire – Tony Davison © / Belper – Dave Evans©

Phyllonorycter messaniella - Tony Davison
Phyllonorycter messaniella – Tony Davison
Phyllonorycter-messaniella-2/10/24 -Dave-Evans
Phyllonorycter-messaniella-2/10/24 -Dave-Evans
Phyllonorycter-messaniella-12/9/24 - Dave-Evans
Phyllonorycter-messaniella-12/9/24 – Dave-Evans
Phyllonorycter messaniella - Tony Davison
Phyllonorycter-messaniella-2/10/24 -Dave-Evans
Phyllonorycter-messaniella-12/9/24 - Dave-Evans

no images were found

 

Distribution Map for Phyllonorycter messaniella

Found 37 records
    ↳ 10 from After 2025
    ↳ 11 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 16 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 – Phyllonorycter messaniella

⚠️ 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: Phyllonorycter messaniella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Phyllonorycter messaniella
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: Phyllonorycter messaniella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Phyllonorycter messaniella
AGR: 8.11%   |   Total % Change: 550%


CUSUM Analysis: Phyllonorycter messaniella
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 13 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 2025, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2023, 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: Phyllonorycter messaniella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Phyllonorycter messaniella
( 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
Phyllonorycter messaniella
( 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 - Phyllonorycter messaniella – 37 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Phyllonorycter messaniellaDWT Wyver LaneSK34P202502/09/202511mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaDWT Wyver LaneSK34P202506/08/20257mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaDWT Wyver LaneSK34P202513/08/20254mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaGraves Park, SheffieldSK38L202526/08/20251minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaGraves Park, SheffieldSK38L202526/08/20251minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaGrindlow, UKSK17Y202527/08/20251Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaDWT Wyver LaneSK34P202523/07/202528mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaChaddesden GardenSK33T202521/06/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaChaddesden GardenSK33T202514/06/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaLimb Valley, SheffieldSK38B202528/06/202510mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaDarwin ForestSK36C202402/10/202420mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaCalke AbbeySK32R202416/10/20241minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaCrich Lane WoodsSK34P202419/10/20244mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaDWT Wyver LaneSK34P202404/09/20242mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaDWT Wyver LaneSK34P202412/09/20246mine (empty)vc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaBunsal Cob, Goyt ValleySK07C202416/09/20241minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaPoppy WoodSK32S202322/11/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaCalke ParkSK32R202307/10/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaCalke ParkSK32R202301/10/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaCarver's RocksSK32G202330/09/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaCarver's RocksSK32H202321/09/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaBlacka Moor and PlantationSK28V201922/06/20191pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaGrange WoodSK21S201813/09/20181Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaRamsley Moor and ReservoirSK27X201802/08/20181pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaLady Canning's PlantationSK28W201728/08/20171pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaCromford Moor and High Peak TrailSK25X201623/08/20161pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellanr Smith's Gorse, Hartshorne, SwadlincoteSK32L201415/08/20141Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter messaniellaMillennium Meadow NR, DuffieldSK34L201325/08/20131Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter messaniellaCarvers Rocks, Hartshorne, SwadlincoteSK32G201111/09/20116Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter messaniellaUpper Wood, Howden ResrSK19R201025/08/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter messaniellaLinacreSK37L200913/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter messaniellaBroomfield Hall, Morley, DerbySK34V200808/11/20081Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter messaniellaCalke ParkSK32L200825/10/20081Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter messaniellaCalke Park,TicknallSK32R200825/10/20081Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter messaniellaEdgecote Drive,Newhall,SwadlincoteSK22V200431/10/20041Adultvc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter messaniellaHillclifflane, nr IdridgehaySK24Y200202/11/20021Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter messaniellaAbbotsholme School, RocesterSK13E200104/10/20011Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data

 
Phyllonorycter quercifoliella       Phyllonorycter platani

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