15.06 BF339  –  Gracillariidae –  Lithocolletinae – Phyllonorycter ulicicolella – Gorse Leaf-miner – (Stainton, 1851) 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
** Identification write up required **
Other Name/s: Gorse 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 scopariella
Broom Leaf-miner
ID pointers: None at this time
Distribution:  (Last record: 15 March 2025 at Markham Vale )  –  A Nationally scarce (Nb) species – Uncertain – a record from 25/05/1970 Lathkill Dale, pupae discovered; a record from 2010 and Leaf mines at Markham Vale on 15th March 2025
Flight Period: June /  July /  August /  Mine Period: January /  February /  March /  April /  May /  September /  October /  November /  December /   – The larvae mine the stems, shoots and spines of Gorse and the mines are rarely encountered. The larva feeds in the epidermis of thinner stems and causes slight blistering. Moth Activity: Cathemeral  Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Mark Radford  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 6-7mm
Food Plant: Gorse
Last Recorded Year: 2025
Last Recorded By – Mark Radford
Last Recorded General Area – Markham Vale

IMAGES BELOW:  

Markham Vale (2025) Mark Radford©

no images were found

Distribution Map for Phyllonorycter ulicicolella

Found 2 records
    ↳ 1 from After 2025
    ↳ 0 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 1 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 ulicicolella

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

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


First/Last Recorded Dates: Phyllonorycter ulicicolella
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 ulicicolella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Phyllonorycter ulicicolella
AGR: 0%   |   Total % Change: 0%
Phyllonorycter ulicicolella
Insufficient records/data for an AGR analysis
Years Analysed: 2000 – 2025
Phyllonorycter ulicicolella
Insufficient records/data for a CUSUM analysis
Years Analysed: 2000 – 2025

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

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

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Phyllonorycter ulicicolellaMarkham Vale North TipSK47L202515/03/202510minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter ulicicolellaLathkill Dale,BakewellSK16X197025/05/197017Pupaevc57_danes_bc_data

Scroll to Top