15.046 BF326  –  Gracillariidae –  Lithocolletinae – Phyllonorycter blancardella – Brown Apple Leaf-miner – (Fabricius, 1781) Adult Micro:  CAT 4 – Gen. Det. Required – Gen-Det-Reqd       Leaf-miner:  CAT R – Moth will need to be reared and possibly dissected – 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
Other Name/s: Brown Apple 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 hostis (Cryptic Apple Leaf-miner); Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae (Common Thorn Leaf-miner)
ID pointers: An attractively marked little moth that is variable orange-ochre forewings with the white streaks sometimes merging together. Often a dusting of black across the orange ground colour
Distribution:  (Last record: 1985 )  –  Unknown in the recording area, despite being commonly distributed throughout England and Wales – one record – 1985 Long Eaton
Flight Period: May /  August /  –  Two broods one in May and one in August Mine Period: June /  July /  September /  October /   – The mines are difficult to identify from other similar species. Must be reared to identify Moth Activity: Cathemeral  Photographed: No –  Photographed By: Not Recorded
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 6-9mm
Food Plant: Crab Apple & Apple
Last Recorded Year: 1985
Last Recorded By – Not Recorded
Last Recorded General Area – Not Recorded

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Distribution Map for Phyllonorycter blancardella

Found 2 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 0 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 2 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 blancardella

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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 blancardella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
No data returned from the database.

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Phyllonorycter blancardella
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 2001, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2001, 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 blancardella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Phyllonorycter blancardella
( 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 blancardella
( 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 blancardella – 2 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Phyllonorycter blancardellaLinacre Wood, nr ChesterfieldSK37G200913/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter blancardellaCarvers Rocks, Hartshorne, SwadlincoteSK32G200127/04/20011Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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