15.045 BF325  –  Gracillariidae –  Lithocolletinae – Phyllonorycter mespilella – Service-tree Leaf-miner – (Hübner, 1805) 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
Black – Uncertain/Unknown – Insufficient Data        purple – Leaf Miner
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Gracillariidae  >> Lithocolletinae
** Identification write up required **
Other Name/s: Scarce Brown Midget
ID Difficulty:  Red – difficult to identify – detailed examination required, often a Gen Det and/or specimen and quality photographs are required.
Confusion Species: Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae (Common Thorn Leaf-miner)
ID pointers: None at this time – the adult moth can only be positively identified by Gen Det
Distribution:  (Last record: 1983 at Matlock Moor )  –  A nationally scarce and localised species.In Derbyshire the status is unknown due to insufficient data and the scarcity of the food plant – 1983 Matlock Moor – No county breeding records
Flight Period: May /  August /  –  Two broods in May & August Mine Period: May /  August /  October /   – The larvae create long, narrow blister mines, that have many creases, on the underside of the leaves of wild service-tree Moth Activity: Cathemeral  Photographed: No –  Photographed By: Not Recorded
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 6-8mm
Food Plant: Wild Service-tree, Rowan, Pear, Whitebeam
Last Recorded Year: 1983
Last Recorded By – Not Recorded
Last Recorded General Area – Matlock Moor

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Distribution Map for Phyllonorycter mespilella

No records found

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 mespilella

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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: Phyllonorycter mespilella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
No data returned from the database.

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


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

Shading shows moth presence between dates

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Recordings By Year: Phyllonorycter mespilella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Phyllonorycter mespilella
AGR: 0%   |   Total % Change: 0%
Phyllonorycter mespilella
Insufficient records/data for an AGR analysis
Years Analysed: 2000 – 2025
Phyllonorycter mespilella
Insufficient records/data for a CUSUM analysis
Years Analysed: 2000 – 2025

Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Phyllonorycter mespilella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Phyllonorycter mespilella
( 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 mespilella
( 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 mespilella – 0 records available

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

No records found for Phyllonorycter mespilella.

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