15.065 BF343  –  Gracillariidae –  Lithocolletinae – Phyllonorycter esperella – Dark Hornbeam Leaf-miner – (Goeze, 1783) 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: Dark Hornbeam 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 coryli (Nut Leaf Blister Moth)
ID pointers: None at this time
Distribution:  (Last record: 7 October 2023 at Calke Park )  –  Only records received are of Leaf Mines so status is uncertain in the recording area. All Leaf mines from one site in the south of the county. Would suspect the species to be rare and localised due to the scarcity and localisation of Hornbeams in the county.
Flight Period: May /  August /  –  Two generations May and a second brood in August Mine Period: July /  September /  October /   – The mine is like thin paper in appearance and on the upper surface of the leaf and folds over strongly. On Hornbeam Moth Activity: Cathemeral  Photographed: No –  Photographed By: Not Recorded
*** Last updated on 22 August 2025 by TD ***
Wingspan: 7-9mm
Food Plant: Hornbeam
Last Recorded Year: 2023
Last Recorded By – Graham Finch
Last Recorded General Area – Calke Park

IMAGES BELOW:  

no images were found

Distribution Map for Phyllonorycter esperella

Found 8 records
    ↳ 1 from After 2025
    ↳ 3 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 4 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 esperella

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

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Phyllonorycter esperella
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 22 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 esperella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Phyllonorycter esperella
( 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 esperella
( 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 esperella – 8 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Phyllonorycter esperellaJim Mart Nature ReserveSK36S202501/09/20251minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter esperellaCalke ParkSK32R202307/10/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter esperellaCalke ParkSK32R202301/10/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter esperellaSerpentine Woods (north),BuxtonSK07L202329/09/20231Larvavc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter esperellaBamfordSK28B201021/09/20101Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter esperellaBroomfield Hall, Morley, DerbySK34V200808/11/20081Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter esperellaCalke ParkSK32L200825/10/20081Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter esperellaCalke Park,TicknallSK32R200825/10/20081Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data

Scroll to Top