15.079 BF357  –  Gracillariidae –  Lithocolletinae – Phyllonorycter stettinensis – Lesser Alder Leaf-miner – (Nicelli, 1852) 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: Small Alder Midget
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
Confusion Species:  Phyllonorycter tristrigella (Elm Leaf-miner); Phyllonorycter froelichiella (Large Alder Leaf-miner)
ID pointers: A dark species in comparison to other Phyllonorycters and quite attractive with contrasting creamy bands and a black tufted head.
Distribution:  All records refer to Leaf Mines – When found they seem to be quite numerous so would indicate the species is relatively common and stable.
Flight Period: May /  August /  –  Two generations in May and August Mine Period: July /  October /   – A small mine on the upper leaf surface of Alder. Changes colour from green to orange-brown when the mine is more mature Moth Activity: Cathemeral  Photographed: No –  Photographed By: Not Recorded
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 6-7.5mm
Food Plant: Alder
Recorded dates for Common [Blue code Blue-coded] moths are not stored on the website at this current time.

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Distribution Map for Phyllonorycter stettinensis

Found 10 records
    ↳ 0 from After 2025
    ↳ 1 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 9 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 stettinensis

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

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


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


CUSUM Analysis: Phyllonorycter stettinensis
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 21 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 stettinensis
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Phyllonorycter stettinensis
( 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 stettinensis
( 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 stettinensis – 10 records available

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

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Phyllonorycter stettinensisCalke ParkSK32R202301/10/20231Minevc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter stettinensisCalver and River DerwentSK27M201805/08/20181pre-adultvc57_irecords_extract
Phyllonorycter stettinensisNorburySK14G200901/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter stettinensisLinacreSK37L200913/10/20091Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter stettinensisCarr Vale NR,BolsoverSK46P200613/09/20061Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter stettinensisClattercotes Wood, nr Ogston ResrSK36K200612/07/20061Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter stettinensisHillclifflane, nr IdridgehaySK24Y200202/11/20021Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter stettinensisAbbotsholme School, RocesterSK13E200104/10/20011Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter stettinensisRowsley Sidings, Rowsley (site not precise)SK26S198312/11/19831Larval Minevc57_danes_bc_data
Phyllonorycter stettinensisWillington area (spinney), DerbySK22Z190502/04/19051Adultvc57_danes_bc_data

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